Maybe I'm Just Confused

SNOW DAY!!

2010-01-08T16:21:00.002-05:00

Don't misunderstand. We don't actually have snow...or ice...or anything of the sort. Yet, school was cancelled today. It's cold, really cold for south Georgia. So I'm bundled up inside (after a trip my local Waffle House for breakfast) enjoying a day off. It was especially nice to be able to sleep late after staying up late for the BCS National Championship. (GO SEC!!)

I'm looking forward to my trip to North Carolina next weekend. It will be a long drive and short stay, but I'm excited.

Can't Rant On Facebook

2010-01-04T21:25:00.002-05:00

I need to rant, but doing so on Facebook will begin too much drama, and probably piss off friends. So, I'll do it here instead.

People, it's a new year, not new years, unless you're speaking of multiple years. It's new year's eve or new year's day, but not just Happy New Years. It's possessive.

Why, oh why, are people letting their children on facebook? I'm so tired of seeing my 4th grade daughter's friends pop up as friend suggestions. I'm not friends with children, nor will I be. I did go check a few of these tween girls' pages, just to see how secure their pages are. I could look at their walls, their posts, their pictures, their info....EVERYTHING!!

While I'm on the subject of children with access to too much technology, let me address the issue of children with cell phones. Now, my parents would not let me use the phone without their permission until I was in middle school. And even then I wasn't allowed to call boys. But, it seems that all sorts of elementary children have cell phones now. Why?? I know children who have received cell phones as early as 2nd grade. This is RIDICULOUS! I teach high school students. I have seen the disgusting things on their phones. I may be a bitchy mom, but my kids will be lucky to get cell phones before they graduate.

I admit that I have a slight facebook addiction. I'm on there almost every day. But I go on to see stalk old friends and ex-boyfriends and to check out pictures of my friends' kids and so forth. If I want to say something personal to someone, I email them. So, PLEASE, for the love of baby Jesus, quit posting your lovey dovey I love you baby, I'll miss you baby while you go to the grocery store crap all over facebook. Get a room...or at least make use of your fb inbox.

One more fb rant...I promise...at least for today. I live in Georgia, in south Georgia, in the Bible Belt. I know that almost all of my friends are Christians and regular church goers. But, you will not get a one way ticket to heaven if you post Bible versus as your fb status, and you're right I am one of the 3% that will not repost your religiosity on my fb wall. I am secure with the faith that I have. I don't need to broadcast it on fb to make people think I'm someone I'm not.

Last thing, am I the only person who does not allow my children to watch to SpongeBob?

It's a new year.

2010-01-02T15:14:00.002-05:00

This blog has been long-neglected, and I'm not sure why. I originally just quit posting when I went back to work and time was an issue. I now am more in a routine at work and don't devote all the hours to it that I used to, yet I still continue to forgo blogging. Maybe it's because I often feel that my life is rather boring and I don't have anything about which to write. But my life was no more exciting when I updated regularly. If I can find the time to update my status on facebook at least once a week, then I can certainly find time to resurrect the old blog.

Spring Break = Masters

2009-04-11T11:24:00.001-04:00

It's Spring Break around and that only means one thing. Masters Week. Being from Augusta, originally, I get all excited to head out the Augusta National and watch the best golf tournament ever. (The only golf tournament that exists in my book, because it's just not that interesting if it's not happening in Augusta.)

The photos are a little dark, because The Husband doesn't know how to check the settings on my camera. And I let him be the photo geek for Monday's practice round.

The course was in beautiful shape as always. The azaleas and dogwoods were in full bloom (although they had been a little beaten down from the rain the night before).

We got to get close to Rory McIlroy, who at 19 years old, is the youngest player to ever qualify for the Masters.

Luke Donald got tips on the putting green. Later, we would get to see the dynamic duo of hotness that was Donald and Villegas, who played together Monday. Most men don't understand quite how hot Villegas is, so of course there are no pictures of him from the practice round, so I found this one on the internet for you to admire.

Yummy!

The umbrellas behind the clubhouse were not raised because it was so very windy, but I'd be willing to bet the egg salad sandwiches taste better from that side of the rope.

We're still watching coverage of the Masters to see who will don the green jacket this year. And we'll be back next year for more fun.

Next up, divorce parties and spas.

Random Thoughts

2009-02-25T14:43:00.009-05:00

Am I the only person in the world who really dislikes Angelina Jolie? I have to admit, she's done an amazing job at cleaning up her image...not to mention, snag one of the sexiest men alive. But I still really don't like her.

Before Brad Pitt

With Brad Pitt

I'm tired of all the political bullshit. A year ago, Democrats were bitching about Bush's economic stimulus plan...and now Republicans are bitching about Obama's. It seems to me that basically, most people want a quick fix (read..check in the mail) without taking any personal accountability. Call me a ditsy Miss America candidate (except I do actually have a minor in Political Science), but what about peacefully trying to come up with a solution together instead of having a bunch of power hungry assholes blaming each other.

2008

2009

Why is health insurance such a racket? We paid an $86 co-pay for Tamiflu this week, and Daughter #2 couldn't even keep it down! EIGHTY SIX DOLLARS...that's highway robbery!!

Did the same nutjob who figured out that if you made cocaine into crack it would be more addictive, also invent facebook?

That is all.

We've got the funk

2009-02-24T07:53:00.006-05:00

Today is my 5th day out of work in 3 weeks. If it weren't due to sickness and if I didn't feel so guilty about missing work, I might could enjoy some time off. The husband and I were both sick two weeks ago, Daughter #2 had it last week, and Daughter #1 has the straight-up funky flu this week...YUCK!!

Luckily, this past weekend we were all feeling well enough to head to Atlanta to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. The trip was supposed to be for Daughter #1's birthday, but we all had so much fun. We had a very girlie day with the three of us plus my mom and sil. We ate lunch in the VERY PINK and very cute bistro at the store. They had high chairs and menus for the girls dolls. The place was so cute, but completely overwhelming. Hello, what recession??? When we first walked in, we saw a little girl's bag and thought "she racked up"......little did we know what we would be walking out with later.

Daughter #1 already had Felicity, and she added Felicity's friend, Elizabeth, to her budding collection. She also got a ball gown for Felicity and a riding habit for Elizabeth. (Not to mention, she got Felicity's hair done...yes, the store has a doll salon!)

Daughter #2 got her first American Girl while we were there. She chose Molly. She was very excited not only to get her doll, but to also get matching pajamas. She has worn her red and white striped pjs EVERY night since we arrived home, so she can match her doll.

So, we had a lovely respite from illness, but now the funk has hold of us again. Hopefully we will get over this soon and start our spring sports schedule by the end of the week.

This looks like a job for the Supreme Court!

2009-02-18T13:38:00.001-05:00

You're kidding, right?

Have A HAPPY HAPPY New Year!!

2008-12-31T19:15:00.002-05:00

Resolutions

2008-12-31T10:53:00.003-05:00

I don't normally make New Year's Resolutions. Because I normally don't keep them. I think if you're going to make a lifestyle change, you can do it any time. You don't have to wait until a new year begins. Plus, I'm really bad at making lifestyle changes.

I didn't make any resolutions last year, but I did for 2007 (you can see them here). I haven't kept ANY of my 2007 resolutions, and I guess if I were to make some this year, they would be similar.

So, here are my 2009, non-resolutions, in no particular order.
1. I know I'm not going to keep my house spotless, so I'm going to get a maid (every two weeks, minimum)
2. I may not rejoin the gym, but I'm going to plan on going for more walks (at least 4 days a week).
3. Cut down on smoking.
4. Be better about making appointments
5. Host something at my house a few times a year (since I'll have a maid cleaning, this will be doable)
6. Eat more fruits and vegetables (and make the kids do so, as well). In fact, I want to twice a week eat no meat at all.

Maybe, I'll be better at getting this together this year.

A Very Merry Christmas

2008-12-31T10:37:00.002-05:00

My parents and grandmother made the drive to our house for Christmas Eve. We had an amazing beef tenderloin for dinner, sitting by the tree in the dining room. I've finally gotten my dining room looking the way I want it, with help from the new pictures I got from my grandmother's house.

After opening the Christmas Eve pajamas, putting out the reindeer food, and singing an interesting, booty-shaking rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" on the front porch, we sent the kids off to bed.

Sometime during the night, Santa made very nice stop at our house. Daughter #1 got an I-Pod, which never left her ears that day. Daughter #2 got an "Intendo" DS. Both of these items made our travels to the in-laws much more pleasant that afternoon.

I was very spoiled this year. I got new sheets, a David Yurman bracelet, 1st edition Shakespeare's, a gorgeous ring, some clothes, and some golf accessories.

After eating our sausage pinwheels and opening presents with my family, we packed up the car and headed to the in-laws. We had this shindig at my bil's house and it was wonderful. All of the cousins played together, we ate, and were merry.

Since we got home Saturday, I have been to a neighborhood get together, held a spend-the-night party for Daughter #1, played golf, and gone out to dinner. It has been quite a full holiday.

We are still unsure of our plans for tonight. Our "family" plans were canceled and we're not sure if we're going to go to the "adult" party. We usually have people over for food and football on New Year's Day, so we may take it easy tonight.

Hope you have a Happy New Year. See you in 2009.

Updated blog

2008-12-22T16:54:00.001-05:00

Yes...This is my third post of the day. That's more than I've blogged in a year. I just wanted to give props to Simply Fabulous Templates for my new template. I'm digging the new look!!

San Francisco

2008-12-22T11:18:00.025-05:00

We did, in fact, make it to San Francisco at the end of July. I never blogged about it, because I'm a major slacker and just haven't blogged at all in six months or longer. So, here it is....our San Fran adventure.

Day 1 - Friday

We arrive in San Francisco to beautiful weather. Leaving Atlanta, it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 95 degrees, and San Fran was in the low 70s. The husband, brother, sil and I took BART straight into the city to find some lunch in Union Square and hop on a cable car.

We waited what seemed like forever in line at the turnaround to get the cable car, but enjoyed the scenic S.F. hills on the way to Fisherman's wharf.

Fisherman's Wharf, while a must-do tourist destination, was not my favorite part of the trip.

We took some pictures of Alcatraz while avoiding pigeon poo and then headed for drinks at the Fog Harbor Fish House on Pier 39.

(Photo from www.gosanfranciscocard.com)

After drinks, we took BART to Livermore to meet all the family at the hotel.

Day 2 - Saturday

First stop...Muir Woods.

a family could live inside the trunk of one of these trees

It was beautiful and so quiet and a not-so-faint smell of marijuana in the air. After walking around the woods, we drove back over the iconic Golden Gate Bridge into the city and had lunch at Tadich's.

(photo from www.ugonnaeatthat.com)

My parents had eaten there 20 years ago and were anxious to return. It is considered the oldest restaurant in S.F. and I can see why it is still around. The food was very good. I had the cioppino and was quite surprised when it came with a bib!!

(photo from www.ugonnaeatthat.com)

It was well worth the humiliation of donning a child's accessory. On our way back to Livermore, we drove down the beautiful and oh-so-crooked Lombard Street.

That night we got to catch up with lots of family members at my cousin's rehearsal cocktail party in Dublin.

Day 3 - Sunday

Sunday we made the trek back down to Fisherman's Wharf and take the ferry to Sausalito to eat brunch at Horizons.

Cloudy skies and dark water on the S.F. side of the bay

Clear skies and beautiful water on the Sausalito side of the bay

photo from http://mtkilimonjaro.blogspot.com

So yes we did take public transit for 45 minutes, walk half an hour, and take a 30 minute ferry ride just to have brunch on Sausalito and then quickly make the same trip in reverse to get to Livermore in time for my cousin's wedding. (Eating is IMPORTANT!!)

The wedding was at the Martinelli Center at Garre Winery in Livermore, and it the scenery was almost as gorgeous as the bride, which is saying a lot!!

It was a wonderful weekend. I feel very lucky to have been able to go spend the weekend for his wedding.

Weekend Redux

2008-12-22T10:18:00.004-05:00

We had a fun weekend. Daughter #2's birthday was Saturday, and being so close to Christmas, she's never had a proper party. I figured it was time for her to have one, so I took eight little girls (my two included) to get manicures. While waiting for each other to get some seriously cool nail art (snowflakes, rhinestones, and polka dots, oh my!) they took turns sitting in the massage chairs. Daughter #1 is hooked! After our pamper fest, we went to Pizza Hut and pigged out. I would say that the party was a success!

My brother and sil arrived Saturday afternoon, and the girls were thrilled to hear that they will have a new cousin arriving in June. I can't wait to start smocking for the baby. We had a great time with them, but was extremely disappointed this morning when my brother and Daughter #1 woke up this morning with the stomach virus. Nothing says Merry Christmas like hugging the toilet.

I still have not finished Christmas shopping, but hopefully the kids will feel better tomorrow, so I can get out.

San Francisco Here We Come

2008-07-23T12:24:00.002-04:00

We're heading to San Francisco Friday and I cannot wait. I have not been on a major trip (that requires a flight) in almost ten years!! And I have not been to San Francisco in EIGHTEEN YEARS! I was so young the last time I was there that I remember very little about the city. I am excited to see the city from the eyes of an adult.

My cousin is getting married at the Garre Winery in Livermore on Sunday. Unfortunately that means we'll have little time in San Francisco proper. Fortunately, that means that we'll get to explore some vineyards and do some things outside of the city that we wouldn't normally do.

I'll be sure to blog the trip when we get back.

No Water

2008-07-03T11:22:00.004-04:00

I woke up this morning to no water. I panicked wondering had I paid the bill. In my head I knew that I had (and paid it early, to boot), but that sinking feeling crashed all over me. I checked my bank statement and saw that my bill was paid. So I wondered, why is my water off? Finally I called the city.

Me: Hello, I live on ABC St. and my water is off. I was wondering if y'all are working on something over here.

City: Yes we are.

Me: Do you know when they'll be finished?

City: I sure don't.

Me: So you have no idea of approximately what time I'll have water?

City: Nope.

There are so many things wrong with this.

Why would they plan to turn the water off on the day before a long weekend, when people are probably planning to go out of town?

Why would they not give affected residents fair warning that the water would be off, so we could make arrangements?

Why would they have no clue when affected residents would have water again?

Getting the Girls

2008-06-26T17:31:00.002-04:00

I'm on my way to go get my children. It's bittersweet. I have loved having time alone, but I have missed them terribly. Daughter #1 has been at camp for almost two weeks and we've only received mail from her one day. I'm taking it as a sign that she's been happy.

I spent last night with my brother. His wife is out of town, so caught up, went to eat sushi, and watched Georgia lose the college world series. My mom is bringing Daughter #2 to my brother's house today and we're off to S.C. to spend the night with my uncle. Friday, we'll head up to the beautiful N.C. mountains to get Daughter #1 from camp.

I'm hoping that Daughter #1 is not as moody as she was last year when we got her from camp. It was awful. I don't know what kind of hormones or emotions were going through her little body, but one minute she was laughing and showing us around camp and the next, she was crying. Maybe since she's a year older, she's got a better grip on her emotions (yeah, right!).

We'll leave camp Friday afternoon to go to my parents' house, where we'll spend the night and visit with them. Then Saturday, it's back home. It will be a whirlwind trip, but very worth it. I'm just excited to hear how camp has been (since we haven't received any mail!)

Making New Friends

2008-06-25T09:22:00.002-04:00

There is a girl with whom I teach. She's not on my hall, so I don't see her frequently. But when I do see her I always speak. Granted, I'm a little hyper in the morning and it could be a little threatening to others, especially if they're shy. But my point is that she has rarely spoken more than two words. Maybe she'll whisper a simple, "hey" or "good morning" but that's it. So I just took it that I annoyed her or something.

She came to the cookout Saturday night. And she talked. To me. 6 couples were at this cookout, and I did notice that she talked mainly to the two of us who teach with her. But I couldn't believe that we were having a real conversation.

Skip to Monday. She came on the "girls day." She was wonderful. She talked as much as everyone else...and that's saying quite a bit!! I'm so glad that I went on our girls outing or I may have missed the opportunity to get to know her a little better.

Making new friends is nice...we're planning another girls day for next week. Yay!!

Young and Old

2008-06-23T10:18:00.004-04:00

We had a fun-filled weekend. But I really think I'm younger than I am. This weekend showed me that I am indeed in my thirties and no longer in my teens and twenties.

The husband helped a friend build a cook-house, so we were invited to a big fish fry Saturday night to celebrate it being finished. It was much fun, but I'm starting to wonder why so many of our friends are so much younger than we. We were probably 10-15 years older than than all but one or two people at this party. (Remember, The Husband is 6 years older than I, so that does make a difference.) In this particular instance, the friend is our old neighbor, I call him my other son even though he's only 11 years younger. He practically lived with us his senior year of high school and is like a member of the family. It's so nice to see him living on his own, and growing into a mature, responsible adult.

Saturday, some friends took us to the lake to tubing. This was the first time Daughter #2 had been tubing and she had so much fun. I, thinking I am still a teenager, (see reference to young friends) decided that I could still go tubing. I mean, all you have to do is hang on, right? It's a little difficult to hang on when the (young) boat driver is intentionally trying to throw your old ass off. My muscles haven't been this sore in a while. I really wanted to ski, but I'm probably lucky that I didn't, I probably wouldn't be able to walk this week.

This picture is not me (it's from www.dailyheights.com), but it gives you a good indication of what I looked like at some point in the day.

After spending all day on the boat, we went to a cookout Saturday night. We had a nice evening that began turning into a late night. The friends were more our age (more like 4 years younger than me, but 10 years younger than the Husband), but I had one moment of "I'm way too old for this." One girl left the cookout to get her daughter to bed. She returned to the party sans husband and daughter, and felt the need to "catch up" and began shotgunning beer. Granted, she had company in the shotgunning department, but I just thought NO WAY!!!

Today, I'm feeling young again. We took Daughter #2 to meet my mom and go off to the beach. So I've planned a girls day. Manis, Pedis, Lunch, and sitting by the pool require no extreme youthful energy, just the ability to catch everyone up on the gossip, and shut my mouth long enough for them to reciprocate.

Almost Child Free

2008-06-19T18:01:00.002-04:00

We took Daughter #1 to camp Sunday. It was a long day in the car. We left Spartanburg, SC at 7:30am, drove to Brevard, NC, then to Athens, GA, before returning home around 11:30 that night. We would have stayed to spend the night in one of those nice towns, but we had to get home.

I've been working all week. I've agreed to try to rework some of our curriculum. It stinks going to work this summer, but they're paying me extra for it. I figure since Daughter #1 is at camp and Daughter #2 is at day camp, I could get some work in.

Daughter #2 is going to the beach with my parents next week, so The Husband and I will be home alone....YAY!!

All Summer Long

2008-06-13T11:33:00.002-04:00

I'm not normally a fan of Kid Rock, but this song reminds me of summers when I was in high school (I'm guessing that's the point).

I just didn't know kids in northern Michigan were fans "Sweet Home Alabama."

Ears and Is

2008-06-13T10:29:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we drove to the next town over (remember we live in BFE where nothing exists but fast food restaurants) to take Daughter #2 to the doctor. She was up all night Wednesday night screaming and crying with her ear hurting. Of course, she has swimmer's ear, and we had to get drops for it. The major problem is that we have to keep her out of the pool for about a week....ARE YOU SERIOUS??? That'll be a challenge.

While we were out, I decided to go look at I-Pods. The Husband has the old 40GB Classic, but it's his (even though I often hijack it and I've downloaded all my music on it). But I'm having a problem with Apple's pricing system. The 8GB I-Pod nano is $200, and the 80GB I-Pod Classic is $250. $50 dollars for an extra 72GB....seems like a deal, but why is the nano so expensive? It must be because it comes in the cool array of colors which the Classic is decidedly lacking (silver and black just don't fit my spunky personality or may variety of music tastes).

You may be asking why on earth I would need 80GB of music and the answer is that I don't, but I do need more than 8...the dilemma...what shall I do??

Top 5 Reasons I'm Glad School Is Out

2008-06-10T10:47:00.004-04:00

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1. We just bought into our neighborhood pool. Only eight families own it and it is less than 100 yards from my back door. The kids have been swimming like champs for a few weeks now.

2. We just spent 9 days at the beach. We took one day when we were too sunburned to sit on the beach to spend a day in Beaufort and check out the Hunting Island Lighthouse. We did nothing but read, sit on the beach, sleep, and eat. It was fabulous.

3. CAMP!! Daughter #1 leaves Sunday for camp in North Carolina for two weeks. She is so excited. We began packing her trunk yesterday and she climbed inside and told me to just ship her there. Daughter #2 will be at Day Camp and while #1 is in NC the first week. Then #2 is going to the beach with my parents while #1 is in NC the second week. It will be like camp for me for about two weeks.

4. I'm enjoying reading for pleasure! I read three books during our time at the beach (A Portrait of An Unknown Woman, Bergdorf Blondes, and The Emperor's Children). If anyone has any good recommendations please let me know!

5. San Francisco! We are going to my cousin's wedding in S.F. in July. I haven't been to California since I was in the 9th grade (and let me tell you, that's longer ago than I look.) We'll be out there for 4 days and I'm really looking forward to it.

My Oven Just Died

2008-02-26T11:35:00.001-05:00

WTF???

Birthday Planning

2008-02-26T09:43:00.002-05:00

It seems as if the only time I blog lately is when I'm home sick. So here I am again. Apparently I never got well after the flu two weeks ago. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and I am now taking FIVE prescription drugs. WOW.

So, besides catching up on The Real Housewives of the OC, I'm also trying to get the final details of Daughter #1's birthday party this weekend. She is very excited because she is having a Rock Star party at a nearby spa for little girls. She also found her birthday present. I haven't given it to her yet, but she knows its coming and can barely contain her excitement. I now just need to figure out what kind of cake to get her. I think she wants one that looks like this.

I just need to find someone to make it.

Exciting News

2008-02-18T09:07:00.002-05:00

While we were at the parents' house this weekend, my brother informed us that he and sil are expecting. I'm so excited to have a new niece or nephew.

In other exciting news, but not as good, one of my students shot two others last Thursday. He then tried to come to school on the bus to (apparently) take out the one he missed. Luckily (?) he got beat up on the bus and fled and never made it to the school. These kids involved in this incident are 16 years old....INSANE!!

Feeling Better

2008-02-13T18:26:00.002-05:00

I feel much better, but I think it's now becoming a sinus infection. I've been popping Sudafed, but I have a feeling I may need an antibiotic.

I finally made it back to work today. Of course, the kids did nothing while I was gone. I didn't care while I was at home huddled under my covers with my laptop re-watching Season 3 of Lost. HOWEVER, when I got back today and they had forgotten everything from last week, I was a little miffed. Unfortunately, we're on a deadline so I don't have a lot of time to go back and play catch up. The graduation test is in March and US History compromises a significant amount of the Social Studies portion (and they will only be a little over half-way through the course).

We're heading to my parents' this weekend. I'm desperate for my hair to be cut and colored (it's grown out so much that I've forgotten that I'm supposed to be blond) and I need someone new to do it. I love my hairdresser here, but I'm ready to cheat. I just need some fresh ideas for my hair. The sad thing is that I have to drive 3 hours to go to a real city where I know that I can get someone to give me something up to date and not give me a perm and frost me....ugh. I hope that it looks cute, but I'm a little worried that I will love and will end up having to continue to drive up there for regular haircuts.

I'm off to help the girls with their Valentine's.

Oh...Happy Birthday, Heather!

Weekend Yuckies

2008-02-11T09:34:00.000-05:00

It all started Thursday night. I was invited to a girls night out. Of course, I went, I enjoyed myself, I drank a little too much red wine.

I woke up Friday morning feeling really badly. I thought it may just be from all the wine, so I dragged myself out of bed and made it to work. Luckily, I had a video to show one class, and I took the other two to the computer lab, so I didn't have to stand up and talk all day. I was feeling progressively worse.

By the time I got home, all I wanted to do was put on my sweats and curl up on the couch. The Husband took both the girls to the "Daddy Daughter Dance" so I had three hours to watch movies all by myself with not interruptions. I was feeling worse by the time they got home so I just continued to lie on the couch and let The Husband put them to bed.

Saturday morning, I thought I was going to die. My temperature was over 102 and I was having chills and sweats. The girls had two birthday parties to attend, so The Husband took them to buy gifts and dropped them off at the neighbor's house for the party at 11am. Ten minutes later Daughter #2 comes home with a temperature of 102.5 and goes to bed where she doesn't wake up until 2am.

So, what have I done all weekend? Well, I have been on the couch for days watching oscillating between watching bad television and sleeping. An entire day of Janice Dickinson's Modeling Agency marathon has filled my quota of trash tv for at least the next few days.

I watched the Grammy's last night. And I have to say...Kanye West is an asshole. I love his song, but him, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I'm not unsympathetic. I feel very sorry for the man about losing his mother. But his sense of entitlement and self-importance is ridiculous.

Today, I'm feeling much better. No fever, but still I feel weak. I'm going to try to get some laundry accomplished. I feel its a good activity, because I can sit while I fold, and I have time to rest between loads.

Daughter #2 is feeling better, as well. But I have her home with me today, but I think we will both be back at school tomorrow. She and I will spend the day watching bad TV (of the child friendly variety) and eating more grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, which is the only thing either of us has eaten for almost 4 days now.

New Orleans

2008-01-21T09:23:00.001-05:00

We had an exciting and fun-filled family vacation. The four of us went to Disney World for four days. I highly recommend Disney's Very Merry Christmas Party.
Daughter #1 was able to dance with the characters...she even did the Soulja Boy with Cinderella's step sisters. She was called up to sing Rudolph at Animal Kingdom. She's such a diva....this was great for her.
Daughter #2 loved the roller coasters mainly. Remember that this trip was for her 5th birthday, She was mad that she couldn't ride Space Mountain. Her favorite ride was Test Track....I think I have a real dare devil on my hands.

After Disney, we were home for Christmas. We dropped the girls off with the mil and were on our way to New Orleans. We had a blast...although we needed about a four day recovery.

After checking in to the beautiful Royal Sonesta on Bourbon Street, we went out see the sights.

Of course, we had to stop and get one, or two, or was it three? of these!
Obviously the next morning we weren't feeling so hot, so we walked off of Bourbon Street in search of sustenance and non-alcoholic entertainment. Apparently, entertainment of the non-alcoholic variety does not exist in New Orleans. We went to a fabulous restaurant called Mulate's. My brother was in search of blackened alligator tail, while the sil, the Husband and I were in search of Bloody Mary's and grease in the form of Po-Boys. As we were leaving the restaurant, our nice waiter asks us if we would like a beer to go....why, yes we would!!

After we left Mulate's we walked across the street to a mall that was right on the Mississippi River. (The above picture is taken from the mall.) My dear brother had forgotten to pack socks, so we were in search of some. We walk into the Gap to find the socks and realize (after he's paid and we're leaving the store) that we still have our "beer to go" in our hands. It was a very odd experience.

After lunch and shopping, we're feeling a little lucky and decide to hit up Harrah's. My brother gets all ticked off about something in there and tells us its time to go after only about 30 minutes...which was just enough time for me to win about 50 dollars.

We headed back to our hotel after Harrahs. We went back to the hotel to get ourselves cleaned up and looking pretty for our nice dinner.

We went to Emeril's NOLA restaurant. It was fabulous. If anyone can find a recipe of his lobster bisque, I know four people who would be willing to pay good money for it. The food was divine. I had (after the bisque, course) Filet Mignon with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Homemade Worcestershire Sauce and Walnut-Blue Cheese Stuffed Portobello Mushroom. YUMMY!

We may have had too much wine and champagne, because the Husband and the brother began playing champagne cork football in the restaurant. And then we began singing with the three-piece band they had. At some point my brother asked them if they could play Black Dog by Led Zeppelin....and they DID!!!

After NOLA we wandered around Bourbon Street some more. We found an extremely posh penthouse New Year's Eve party where we felt a little too redneck...I can handle a party like that at home, but when I'm on vacation I just want to have fun. Bourbon Street was packed and we kept getting separated from each other. Finally, the Brother and I went on back to our hotel and the Husband and the SIL stayed out....who knows what they did, but neither was feeling very well the next day.

It took us a while to get going on New Year's Day. The Husband and I went off in search of food and football. We found a place where the food was good (think crawfish etouffee slathered on a hamburger), the service sucked, and the tv could not be seen from almost any table. (Is there any wonder why I can't remember the name of the restaurant?)

Considering it took around TWO HOURS to get a bowl of gumbo and a hamburger, we went back to the hotel to get dressed for the big game. Plus, we needed to do a little tailgating.

The Georgia fans in New Orleans ranged from:

Nice and tasteful to

Completely over the top!!

We headed to Razzoo's for a little tailgating fun. We also met up with some friends that I haven't seen since high school.

Then FINALLY, we made it to the SuperDome...the whole point of the trip! We blacked out the Dome and watched the Dawgs tear up the Rainbow Warriors. It actually was kind of sad. The Hawaii fans were so nice and gracious. They were really excited to be there. Of course, the UGA fans were loud and drunk and obnoxious....and I am talking of others besides myself. I was hoping that it would be a real game, but it wasn't even close. I think this shows a real flaw in the BCS system (or at least a problem with the snotty Rose Bowl Committee).

At least Georgia ended up being ranked #2 behind LSU. I can certainly be okay with Numbers One and Two being SEC teams.

I'm already planning to be in Miami on January 8, 2009! It's going to be the Dawgs' year!!!

Christmas Break

2007-12-03T22:49:00.000-05:00

I know I promised to blog more frequently this school year, and I seem to have gotten off to a terrible start.

I could post pages on my the minutiae of my day-to-day life. I could tell you all about the "interesting" students I have. (Remember the boy who used the Spanish glossary? He's one of the bright ones!) I could tell you how lucky I am that I work on block scheduling, so when I go back to work in January I will have all new students.

But....I won't bore you with those things now. I have much more exciting news.

Over Christmas holidays we are taking TWO awesome trips.

We're taking both of the girls to Disney World for Daughter #2's 5th birthday. It's sort of a rite of passage in our family that when you turn five, you get a trip to MouseLand. Ironically (and you'll read why in a moment), we're staying at the Port Orleans resort. I'm not the type of girl who would usually get all ga-ga over Disney, but seeing the magic through the eyes of my children really wonderful. We'll be there for five days and return home a few days before Christmas.

THEN, we'll be ringing in the new year on Bourbon Street!! Although the Dawgs got jipped out of a National Championship game, we are still going to the Sugar Bowl. And by "we", I mean the Dawgs, me, and DH! I'm so excited I can't stand it. It's been YEARS (like 17) since I've been to New Orleans and I wasn't old enough to drink (legally) then. So, this time....watch out!

It shaping up to be quite the adventurous holiday....Do you think I'll get ANY rest at all? I'm promising myself now that it will have to be a low-key spring break.

Thomas Brown and Knowshon do the Soulja Boy!

2007-11-12T20:18:00.000-05:00

GA Bulldogs - Soulja Boy

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When will autumn be here?

2007-10-20T15:22:00.001-04:00

It rained Thursday and Friday and I assured myself that the wet weather would lead to the us to the usual autumn crispness we get just before Halloween. I stayed up late last night reading. I woke up late this morning and dressed in jeans and a long sleeve shirt, just knowing that I would go out to sunshine, falling leaves, and cooler weather. But, alas, no. The sun is shining. The leaves are falling, but in truth, they may just be dying. And the weather...well, it's still HOT!

We went and bought pumpkins anyway. They'll probably rot before Halloween. I thought I would take advantage of the cooler weather and buy some flowers for my hanging baskets and for my front porch. But it's too hot to work in the yard.

I'm ready for those cooler days, and chilly nights. Will they ever get here?

I'm Here!!

2007-10-14T18:59:00.001-04:00

Being back in school has been quite hectic. I've already had to go to court twice over a fight that began in my classroom (9th grade girls!!). I've had quite the first few months. Teaching 9th graders is VERY DIFFERENT from teaching 11th graders.

Just one to leave you with.
The first day of school, I had kids do a vocabulary sheet while I got some essentials taken care of. The list was about 40 words long.

The next day, I gave a vocabulary quiz. They could use the sheet they had done the day before, so as long as they had actually complete the work, they were guaranteed a 100 to start off the year.

One boy raised his hand and told me that he didn't understand the words.
I explained that some of the words might have definitions that differed from our common understanding.
He said, no, that wasn't it. He just didn't understand them. It was like they were written in another language or something.
I asked him to show me what he meant.
He got out his vocabulary list and he had done all forty words.....

out of the Spanish glossary.

There's just a little insight into how my teaching year has started.

I miss you all, please know that I am reading blogs, but am just not commenting.....I'll try to be better about posting, but I'm not making any promises.

Guess What I Got....

2007-08-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

Surprise....I just got a new Dell laptop. I am so excited. It was the biggest surprise, I had no idea that I was getting it. Now, I just have to figure out how to use it. I'm connected to the internet now through my regular PC modem. I don't know how to go wireless....

School is going okay. I'm tired already (I worked today from 8am to 8pm). Tomorrow is Open House and the first day of school is Friday....say a prayer or ten for me.

We're home

2007-07-29T15:39:00.000-04:00

from the mountains. We had a great time, especially meeting Bee and Sarge. I have pictures to upload, but I'll have to get to it later. The girls have a swimming party in less than hour then I have to take them to grandmother's house to spend the night and I start my first day of work tomorrow.
I'm going to try to not get bogged down and forget to blog like I did when I first started teaching, because in the words of Miss Bee "That just sucked!"

Go By Dixie's - Heart and Soul

2007-07-21T11:12:00.001-04:00

Dixie, from Dixie's - Heart and Soul, is sending her son, Matt, off to the Marines this weekend. Please, stop by her blog and let her know that you're thinking of her and her son.

Go Dawgs!

2007-07-20T12:22:00.000-04:00

Paige may be my only blog reader who will appreciate this video.
I'm so ready for football. I can't wait to get to Athens on Saturdays and watch them Silver Britches.

Sat, Sep 01 Oklahoma State Athens, Ga. 6:45 p.m.

Sat, Sep 08 South Carolina * Athens, Ga. 5:45 p.m.

Sat, Sep 15 Western Carolina Athens, Ga. TBA

Sat, Sep 22 Alabama * at Tuscaloosa, Ala. TBA

Sat, Sep 29 Ole Miss * Athens, Ga. TBA

Sat, Oct 06 Tennessee * at Knoxville, Tenn. TBA

Sat, Oct 13 Vanderbilt * at Nashville, Tenn. TBA

Sat, Oct 27 Florida * at Jacksonville, Fla. TBA

Sat, Nov 03 Troy Athens, Ga. TBA

Sat, Nov 10 Auburn * Athens, Ga. TBA

Sat, Nov 17 Kentucky * Athens, Ga. TBA

Sat, Nov 24 Georgia Tech at Atlanta, Ga. TBA

A New MeMe

2007-07-19T11:18:00.000-04:00

Bond tagged me to do The 108 MeMe.

Here are the rules:

You MUST post five links to posts we have written. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.... and don't forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about...
Link 4 must be about something you love
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone had written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.

So, here we go.

1. This one has no title as it was written during those days when blogger wouldn't let you in the title bar. It's about being homesick for my family. Or you could go back and read Phone Call From My Mother.

2. I don't blog about my friends very often. So let me scrape something up. Try Well-Meaning Friends

3. Oh I Wish will give you some insights into my personality.

4. You probably didn't mean material things that you love, but go read Dear Santa. It's my Christmas list from last year. It will show you some things that I would LOVE to have.

5. For whatever I choose...I'll let you go read Some Feelings About the South.

I really don't like to tag people, because I know some people really hate memes (I don't happen to be one of them.) But I'll try a few people.

Heather
Sarge
Paige
Ian
You, if you want.

Things I Wanted To Do This Summer....

2007-07-18T11:38:00.000-04:00

But Didn't Get Around To

1. I really wanted to clean out my closets and drawers. If you've read this blog before, you know I HATE housekeeping and I'm very unorganized. I have more junk drawers than should be allowed in a home. I really wanted to take one room a week and clean out all the closets and drawers and organize them. The problem with this is that not only have I not even attempted to do it, but if I did try, I would probably get everything out on the floor and get distracted then leave it all there creating a bigger mess in the process.

2. I wanted to have my dining room painted. I received some beautiful antique dining room chairs for Christmas and I finally found fabric that I loved and I just got them recovered. My dining room is looking great EXCEPT for the color. I have never liked the color. It is a pale yellow, but it was supposed to be creamier than it is...it's a little too "sunny" for a formal dining room. I guess I could paint it myself (ha, ha), but I don't think I could move our piano...AND I tend to get bored with projects like that easily. I would do the painting, but end up with paint all over the trim and never fix it (kind of like what happened when The Husband painted our master bathroom).

3. I wanted to get Daughter #2 a bigger bed and do some decorating in her room. She has a twin bed, which is a pain when we lie down with her at night to read stories. It is past time for her to get a double bed, but part of the reason I haven't done it is because I don't want to have to pick out a new comforter and bedskirt and curtains. Plus, just picking out a bed is work. I would love to order online from the convenience of my home, but delivery or shipping costs on a bed are ridiculous.

4. I had planned to get all of my lesson plans for school completed. HA! I have definitely been lazy this vacation. I have only been to the school once and even then only spent a few hours. I'm teaching a new class next year (along with U.S. History, I'll also be teaching Geography), so I really need to figure out what I'm teaching and HOW I'm going to teach it. I have less than two weeks before I go back for pre-planning and I'm just as clueless as I was when we got out in May. I am going to the school this afternoon...I'm going to stay away from the blogs and actually attempt to get some things accomplished.

5. I still need to get some appointments in. I need to go to the eye doctor...I sick and tired of wearing glasses because I have no more contacts. The girls and I need hair appointments. Mine is still too short at the moment, but it desperately needs some root touch up, and the girls need trims before school starts. Daughter #2 needs to get her vision and hearing tested for Preschool...I don't know why our pediatrician didn't do this at her 4 year check up. But she can't start school without it, so I need to get on the ball. Maybe I should call and make all these appointments today, so I can actually get them in before school starts.

Drawing a Blank

2007-07-17T13:56:00.000-04:00

I have nothing to blog about. I know that somewhere in the back of my brain, ideas are lurking just out of reach.

I could blog about how we took our cat, D.C., to the vet today and discovered that he is actually a she.

I could blog about how much I'm looking forward to having a routine again all the while dreading going back to work in 2 weeks.

I could blog about how freaking hot it is.

I could tell you to listen to Blog Talk Radio tonight at 6:30 to listen to Morgen.

I could tell you to go buy Ian's book, The Milkman, because it is completely hilarious. (I will get around to giving a review at some point.)

Rising Blogger Award

2007-07-16T01:30:00.000-04:00

I have received the Rising Blogger Award for my All or Nothing post on June 7. I have to admit that I'm quite flattered. Go over to The Rising Blogger and check out all the other recipients!

Hmm....

2007-07-15T21:10:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how the naked swimming post got more comments than anything in the past few months.

Diving Ginnie Spring

2007-07-15T17:18:00.000-04:00

We went diving at Ginnie Springs in Florida yesterday. A crew of people were in our group, I think we had 24 divers. We only had one more dive in order to finish up our Open Water Diver certification. So we got that out of the way quickly so we could go explore on our own.

We actually dove the Devil Springs System rather than Ginnie Spring itself. Devil Springs consists of three different springs. I didn't go in Little Devil as it is very narrow and I'm quite claustrophobic. The other two springs were very nice. Devil's Ear has a lot of water rushing out of it and you have to go down and hold on to the sides or the water will push you out of the spring. It is a very cool feeling.

We had a great time, but it was SO crowded that I'm not sure that I would want to go back. There were so many people tubing the Santa Fe river and their floats were going right over us. When I looked up all I could see were butts.

Some Pictures From Our Vacation

2007-07-13T16:54:00.001-04:00

Big Fat Lip

2007-07-11T11:01:00.000-04:00

Now I know why people basically quit putting in pool slides after the 1980s. Those suckers are DANGEROUS! Now I'm not one to fall off a slide and then sue the slide manufacturer or anything. And I DO believe that kids are just gonna get hurt and it will toughen 'em up. But we've had injuries on the pool slide.

Our neighbor's kid fell off the top of the slide yesterday and broke his foot in three places. Daughter #2 went down the slide (without waiting for the previous person to get out of the way)...and BAM! Teeth to head. Daughter #2's mouth hit the other neighbor kid's head. BLOOD everywhere. Big fat lips. Knots on heads. Then Daughter #2 got herself cleaned up and went BACK down the slide....BAM...bloody nose! We left and went home and took a nap. We figured it was not a good pool day.

On the subject of pool slides....they're much more fun and a lot faster if you're naked.

That's what the kids tell us.

I wouldn't know.

WHY DO I BLOG????

2007-07-11T02:10:00.000-04:00

I listened to Morgen's show tonight and it got me thinking about why I blog. I mean, of course, beyond things such as Cumming and Climax, Georgia. Who wudda thunk it? that the conversation changed to crazy town names...Matt-Man of course!! (BTW...Matt, I loved hearing you!)

But I digress. The question is...why do I blog?

I find it therapeutic. I can sit here at my computer and type whatever, whenever the hell I want to. I can tell my lifelong secrets, or not. I can be whomever I choose. I can tell Natalia things about me that I would never tell anyone else. I can be Heather's long-lost Southern best friend. I can be the Gouda's drinking buddy. I can be Matt-Man's.....well, whatever. I can read Mist and wish I could pun like she. I can be as open as Jessica. I love America like Sarge and wish I was elsewhere like all the ex-pat blogs I read. I've always wanted to live in Ireland so I read Beth. I can listen to Morgen and long for the next Harry Potter book. I can tell Janna how much I hate ketchup. I can talk about education with the NYC Educator.

Of course I'm leaving out MULTITUDES of my bloggy friends(especially considering that it's 2:30am and I'm drunk). Like Bee, Ian, Hammer, Brian, and The Very Nice Man....and many other who probably don't even know that I read their blogs.

But I guess my point is...like many of you, I have many different facets of my personality. Online and through the blogs that I read and to which I reply I find myself able to deal with all of these different aspects of my life. I know that I'm not the most active blogger and that many of you don't know how comfortable I feel with you and your blogs. Yet, here I am. Continuing in this little world where somehow we all seem to know each other and get along and deal with our differences.

This is why I blog.

Counselor....if I need help because of this, please let me know!

Dial-Up

2007-07-10T10:19:00.000-04:00

I hate the my ISP out-sources to India. I have had to call a few times and it drives me crazy that usually I know more than the people at the help desk. Every time I call they have me do the same 10 things and none of them ever work. I always call and tell them what the problem is, but it's like they can't address that problem until I have been through the ten b.s. steps first. It drives me crazy!

All we did was EAT!

2007-07-08T15:18:00.000-04:00

We ate so much on our beach trip that I'm bound and determined to start exercising again this week. But mmmm...it sure was good.

Frogmore Stew

Steak

Ribs

It's Nice To Be Home

2007-07-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

We rolled into town last night at about 8pm after having been gone for 9 days.

We picked Daughter #1 up from camp last Friday. I am relieved to tell you that she did not smell of skunk. I love the camp she attends. I may have mentioned that it is the same camp where I went as a child. I would go back, yet I don't want to be a counselor...I want to be a camper. My little camper had a great time, but was excited about going to the beach after having been in the mountains for two weeks.

In one day we left Athens, GA and went to the mountains of North Carolina and then to the coast of South Carolina. We were exhausted by the time we got to the beach, but we had just enough energy for a beer (or three) and a golf cart ride around the island. We spent our days lying on the beach reading books and swimming in the Atlantic with the girls. Who could ask for better?

OK, actually the BEST part of the trip was when we got home. You may recall my distaste for housekeeping....I had someone come and clean the house while we were away. Let me tell you, she went above and beyond what I usually get when I pay for a cleaning. My refrigerator was cleaned out. She organized under my sinks. It was the most wonderful feeling. AND to top it off, The Husband was so excited by how clean the house is, he said we can get someone every two weeks...YAY!!!

Ha Ha!

2007-06-26T16:31:00.000-04:00

Dear mom
and dad i got
sprad by a skonk
and I got a fish
mom thank you
for the picurs
Love Daughter #1

That was the text of the letter I got from Daughter #1 from camp. If I translate it correctly, it reads: Dear Mom and Dad, I got sprayed by a skunk and I got a fish. Mom, thank you for the pictures. Love, Daughter #1.

Ha...she got sprayed by a skunk. I bet her counselors and cabin mates loved that! I should probably be worried that it didn't make her sick, but I think it's hilarious!!!

Yeah it's a meme, get over it.

2007-06-26T12:53:00.000-04:00

Most people don't like these little memes, but I don't mind them. They allow me to post something without actually having to figure out something to blog. So here you go...stolen from Natalia.

What was the highlight of your week?
Spending time with my parents and my brother.

Are you happy right now?
I don't have anything to be unhappy about. Yet I feel like I need something new, but have no clue what it is.

Who do you dislike currently?
I don't actively dislike anyone; however, I don't like people who are mean or rude.

If you could have one thing right now what would it be?
All the answers

Who makes you happiest right now?
My children

Would you consider yourself to be spoiled?
Not anymore.

Have you ever been IN a wedding?
Yes, and I love a wedding. I think everyone should have one day where they are the center of attention.

Do you want to be famous one day?
Rich, not famous.

Are you multitasking right now?
Yep...you get used to it.

Could you handle being in the military?
I hate structure and routine...and I could never have someone yelling at me like that....and I'm not the most "active" person in the world (the running would kill me).

Do you believe in Karma?
I would like to, but unfortunately some people never get what they deserve.

Whats the stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone?
I left it on top of my car and drove my daughter to school. It fell off in the middle of the road. After taking her to school I drove back to where it landed and got out in the middle of traffic and got it. It was fine. I couldn't believe no one had run over it.

Who knows a secret or two about you?
I am an open book...I can't keep my own secrets.

What's crazy to you?
What's not?

Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now?
I wouldn't know...if someone is he/she is not my friend and not worth wasting my time worrying about.

Who is the most experimental person you know?
I would have been, but I don't think I am anymore. I don't know.

Who do you want to be with right now?
I would love to take a trip with "my girls." There are 5 of us from high school and they are the best friends a girl could have.

Your motivation for tomorrow?
I'm going to get Daughter #1 on Friday and then heading to the beach.

Last thing you did that ticked off your parents?
I feel that they are always ticked off about something with me. I doubt they know who I really am. In fact, I know they don't know me.

Are you ever purposely irritating?
Umm...I don't really have to try, but yes.

Are you an emotional person?
Oh yes. I cry all the time. I lose my temper quickly.

Does anyone hate you?
Who knows, who cares....I'm not wasting my time worrying about it.

Melancholy?

2007-06-26T09:33:00.000-04:00

Yesterday's post was a little melancholy. I hate feeling that way. Maybe it wasn't even melancholy so much as "Wah, wah, poor me!" I don't like feeling that way either. My life is very good and I have so little to complain about. I don't want my blog to be a downer, but it is a "safe" place to vent feelings that often have no merit. Why bother my family and loved ones with feelings that I will soon get over and that may unnerve them, when I can just get it out on my blog and get over it.

2007-06-25T15:27:00.000-04:00

I spent the weekend with my family (as in my parents and brother and his wife). I had no children and no husband with me. It's gotten my head all messed up.

I like where I live. I've always been very independent and not "needy" of my family. So many of my friends here have everyone they are related to in a 10 mile radius. It drives me nuts. But it also makes me lonely for someone, any member of my family to be nearby.

I have great friends here (although the town is somewhat lacking), but sometimes I wonder if it's enough for the rest of my life to live where I have no extended family.

I really didn't want to go up there over the weekend. I wanted to spend a quiet weekend at home reading books and watching movies, but my mom talked me into it. I'm so glad I went. I had a wonderful time. But that wonderful time translates into my being moody and lonely when I leave. I always cry when I leave home (it started about 2 years ago, before then I couldn't wait to get out the door). I get very moody the day I am to return home and I withdraw. My mom and husband think it is a reflection on them, that I am in some way angry with them. But I'm not, I'm homesick. Sometimes I feel that their lives are going on without me (which they are in a way, as they should), but it makes me incredibly lonely. Lonely, even when I am around a lot of people.

I know that I wouldn't be completely happy if I moved back there. Well, I know we probably never will move back there. But, even if we did, I wouldn't love it. I don't know what it is that I'm longing for...I just know I feel something missing and when I'm home I realize with more clarity that it is missing, but I still don't know what or why.

It sounds as if I'm unhappy, but truly I'm not. I just feel something missing, yet I can't put my finger on it.

Pictures of You

2007-06-22T14:35:00.000-04:00

I am one of those people who has an addictive personality. I drink too much, I smoke, I bite my fingernails. Maybe those are just bad habits, but they are somewhat addiction problems. My newest addiction is luckily not a bad habit, but it is something that I just cannot quit doing. At least I do foresee an end to this "problem."

See, Daughter #1 is at camp. The camp posts pictures daily of the kids. Sometimes they post three or four times a day and most days they will have over 250 pictures up. I cannot stop checking the site to see if my little girl's picture is on there. Then I go back through the pictures to see if she happened to be in the background of a picture and I may have somehow missed her. I scrutinize her face to see if her smile is a real one (like, Yippee I'm having fun)...or forced (like, smile for the camera so your mommy will think you're having fun at camp). I'm glad to say that her smiles look quite genuine. I want to see what activities she's doing everyday. I look for the camp "news" section to see what they've had for dinner and how their weather was and who is going on a camp out when.

I'm quite obsessed with this activity. In fact, I'm going to check again now.

Call me Holly Golightly

2007-06-21T09:42:00.001-04:00

We're still calling our cat "Cat." His name has changed so frequently and now Daughter #1 is off at camp and we can't remember if his name is Lion, Cheetah (Chee Chee for short, which I personally think is too emasculating for a boy cat), or Tiger. So for now he's just "Cat." I personally don't mind the Audrey Hepburn connection.

Pandora

2007-06-20T17:18:00.000-04:00

I love Pandora. I found their website months ago but kind of forgot about it (when I switched to Firefox and subsequently lost all my bookmarks). I'm back and I had forgotten how much I loved this site. Go check it out.

Vacation...all I ever wanted.

2007-06-20T09:29:00.000-04:00

I need a vacation. I know, I know, you're sitting there thinking, "But Aisby, you're a TEACHER. You have the entire summer off." Okay, that's true, but I need a getaway, to go somewhere. I'm feeling stifled in this tiny town.

We go to the beach a couple of times a year and we're going in just a few weeks, but somehow that's not what I want. Don't get me wrong, I'll have a great time and I'll come back home relaxed...but I want to GO somewhere. The problem with having a beach house (technically, it's my parents' not ours) is that we forgo other destinations in favor of free fun.

It's really not feasible for us to take a big trip this year. We do have a few things coming up in the next year. We are taking the kids to Disney in December. And my cousin is getting married in (or near) San Francisco next summer. I would like to leave the kids with my mil for the wedding and we can either go early or stay after and drive Napa Valley...I think that would be fun. Also our 10th anniversary is next May and we want to go somewhere for it.

But I'll play a little game that my mom and I like to call "What if.." The men in our family hate it, because they know when we preface any statement with "Honey, what if..." that it's either going to be ridiculous or cost a lot of money. But we still play. Hmm, what if I could go anywhere right now...where would I go?

New York is always a favorite of mine...and The Husband has not been there.

Chicago: I've never been and everyone says it's wonderful. I think I could have a great time there.

Florida Keys: We could go SCUBA diving or sit on a beach and have drinks and eat seafood.

Those are some pretty reasonable destinations, but what I would REALLY love to do is go to Europe. I have several places in mind.....

Both The Husband and I have are dying to go to Ireland, but should we go to Dublin?

Or to the country....or BOTH???

I've always wanted to go to Italy. I could brush up on that Italian I learned in college. And The Very Nice Man just returned from Italy and seeing his photographs really makes me want to go soon.

Greece sounds good...the history, the Mediterranean...what's not to love?

Home from the mountains

2007-06-18T08:26:00.000-04:00

We made it home last night from a weekend in the North Carolina mountains. We spent the weekend with friends and then dropped Daughter #1 off at camp on Sunday. We were amazed when we got up there on Friday afternoon that it was a mere 63 degrees. My friend and I stayed up entirely too late catching up (and I had to put on a fleece jacket because I was so cold). Of course when we got home last night at 10:30, it was still 87 degrees...hot....and VERY humid. So, if anyone wants to give us jobs in Western NC we'll move tomorrow!!

Daughter #1 was very excited about going to camp. She is in the same cabin that she was in last year, and even managed to snag the same bunk that she had. She shooed us out quickly telling us that we could leave so she could play with her new friends. The camp has a website where they post pictures from each day. She was in several pictures and was all smiles. I just wish I could go back.

BTW, the picture was taken as we were walking back to our car from her cabin. I would love to stare at that view every day!!

Certifiable?

2007-06-14T15:14:00.000-04:00

We finished our last SCUBA class last night. All we have to do is make one more dive and we're certified! We're going to Ginnie Springs in a few weeks to dive. Then we're going sometime around the first week of August or so to West Palm Beach to dive in the ocean for the first time.
This is never something I thought I would want to do, but now I'm pumped up about it. I'm so ready to get back in the water!!

We're Off To See The....

2007-06-14T11:46:00.000-04:00

Well, we're not off to see the wizard, but we are off to see family and friends this weekend.

Daughter #1 begins camp in the NC mountains on Sunday, so we're making a weekend of it. One of my best friends from high school lives in the same town the camp is in, so we're going to spend the weekend with her and her family.

On our way up there tomorrow we are going to stop and spend a few hours with my grandmother. She and I have always been really close and Daughter #2 is named for her. She has just been diagnosed with cancer and does not have long. I feel a sense of urgency to go spend time with her (but I don't want to exhaust her, either).

It should be a wonderful weekend. I'm very much looking forward to it. Plus the weather in the mountains will be much cooler and more pleasant that down here.

I HATE Norton Anti-Virus

2007-06-13T13:01:00.000-04:00

I don't know what is wrong or how to fix it. If you know how to help me, please do so. I renewed my anti-virus protection a few months ago (apparently it lasts for a year). But now every two freaking seconds a Symantec "virus protection is out of date" thingy pops up. It is driving me INSANE! Apparently something on my subscription only lasted a few months instead of the whole year, but I'm not paying again when I know my virus protection is still in effect for another 6 months. How do I make this damned pop-up stop??? I HATE IT!!!!

You're Getting Laaazzzyyy

2007-06-13T12:30:00.000-04:00

Apparently it doesn't take very long to fall back into an old habit. I slept until almost 11 today. Hellooo...who does that? Teenagers, that's who. And I passed those days years ago. I do actually have an excuse, though. My good friend (who happens to be my next door neighbor)had a really bad day yesterday. So, being the good friend that I am, stayed up with her, and drank too much with her, and solved the world's problems with her. So really, I was just being a friend, right?

Summer Fun

2007-06-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

We spent all day yesterday at the pool. It was so nice to just have a relaxing day with the family. The Husband even got off work early and played with us. He grilled us a wonderful dinner of Silver Queen corn and Italian Sausages which we ate with tomato slices covered in mayo and salt and pepper.

Both of my girls are swimming so well now. Daughter #1 is a good swimmer, but it always takes her a while to get comfortable in the water each summer. Daughter #2 is, for the first time, getting off the steps and is actually going down the slide and jumping off the diving board. I'm so proud of my little girls.

Daughter #1 goes to camp on Sunday. She is so excited that she had me pack her trunk over a week ago. Daughter #2 is insanely jealous. She informed us that she is going to camp and she's going NOW. In fact, she's vowed to skip K4 and go straight to Kindergarten, because she can go to camp when she finishes Kindergarten. I love both of my girls are so excited about new adventures.

In other news, I've made a decision on the private school v. public school debate. I have registered the girls for public school and so far, I'm pleased with the decision. They will be closer to me. They can ride the bus in afternoons to my school so they don't have to go to the after school program. And it will save us a good bit of money. They both have many friends who go to their new schools, so I think all-in-all we've made a good choice. (Of course, we weighed many other factors into this decision). I still have some apprehension, but it is diminishing as I talk to friends who's kids attend the public school.

The kids and I are both off to new school adventures this fall. We're going to enjoy our summer, because as they begin new schools I will be starting a Masters program. At least I hope that I will be. I applied today....wish me luck.

My Personality????

2007-06-11T11:20:00.000-04:00

I saw this at Skittles Place, and decided why the heck not.

Advanced Global Personality Test Results

Extraversion	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	83%
Stability	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Orderliness	\|\|\|\|\|\|	26%
Accommodation	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Interdependence	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Intellectual	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Mystical	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Artistic	\|\|\|\|\|\|	23%
Religious	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Hedonism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Materialism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Narcissism	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Adventurousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Work ethic	\|\|\|\|	16%
Self absorbed	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Conflict seeking	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Need to dominate	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%

Romantic	\|\|\|\|	16%
Avoidant	\|\|	10%
Anti-authority	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	76%
Wealth	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Dependency	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	36%
Change averse	\|\|\|\|\|\|	23%
Cautiousness	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Individuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Sexuality	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	50%
Peter pan complex	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Physical security	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	90%
Physical Fitness	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	44%
Histrionic	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	63%
Paranoia	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%
Vanity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	70%
Hypersensitivity	\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|	56%
Indie	\|\|\|\|\|\|	30%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Stability results were moderately high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.

Orderliness results were low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment.

Extraversion results were high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

trait snapshot:
messy, outgoing, open, self revealing, ambivalent about chaos, unpredictable, not good at saving money, social, likes large parties, likes to stand out, risk taker, quick to make friends, does not like to be alone, rash, fame seeking, sarcastic, craves attention, social chameleon, low self control, food lover, not rule conscious, weird, assertive, not a perfectionist, anti-authority, thrill seeker, vain, likes to fit in, reckless, emotionally sensitive, leisurely, trusting

Pets

2007-06-11T08:03:00.000-04:00

Daughter #1 has been obsessed with having a pet for a few years now. She has been known to carry a moth around in a pickle jar and stink-bugs around in a little cage. We've had tadpoles (who then turned into frogs) and all sorts of wild creatures that either prematurely bought the farm or were released.

But we haven't had a "real" pet in a long time. The fact is that we're often not home long enough to take care of animals properly. But somehow Daughter #1 caught us in a weak moment when asking for a kitten. When I say weak, I mean drunk.

It happened like this
Daughter #1: Mom, can I have a kitten, please, please, please, please?
Me: Um, go ask your Dad.
Daughter #1: Daddy, I love you. Can I please, please, please have a kitty. I'll take care of it and it will be mine and you and mom won't have to do anything.
The Husband: IF you get a cat, it will be yours. IF you get a cat you are taking care of it. IF you get a cat you're paying for it's food and shots, etc. out of your money.
Daughter #1: (Smiling) Okay, Daddy. I love you.
Me: You know that "IF" crap you just pulled.
The Husband: Yeah....IF she gets a cat.
Me: No, you just told her she's getting a cat...when you mean no, you say "we'll see"....IF means YES.

So Daughter #1 has been (im)patiently waiting for her kitten. And I have to admit that although I'm not really a cat person. This little guy is really cute.

Saturday

2007-06-09T11:52:00.001-04:00

I love Saturday. We slept late.

We're going to take the kids swimming after we clean the house.

The girls are getting a new kitty today.

And then we're going to go to my grandmother's house for steaks with my dad tonight. All is looking well for a fun day....if we can get the darn house clean.

Maybe I'm Just Confused, but....

2007-06-08T15:23:00.000-04:00

1. I can't decide if I should start a Masters program this fall or not. A local program exists where I can be finished with it in one year, but I'll have to work my arse off for that one year. And I'm not sure that I'm ready to do that.

2. Why is it that when you take your car in for a problem that's under warranty, you always spend more on something else? Something was the matter with my car the other day and I got it fixed, but of course, I needed an oil change, and tires rotated, and new brakes while it was there.

3. Are the Talking Heads so hard up for money that they're pimping their songs to rap stars. First it was "put some sugar on my tongue" and now it's "take a look at my girlfriend." What's next, Snoop Dogg doing a rousing rendition of "psycho killer, fa fa fa fa fa fa?"

All or Nothing

2007-06-07T11:14:00.000-04:00

I've always known I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. I'm one of those people who starts a new activity and spends tons of money on it only to never do it again in a few months. Some of these all or nothing ventures in my past have been

a) camping: I spent an arm and a leg on a sleeping bag and hiking boots and other stuff to go camping when I am well aware that I do NOT like to be anywhere without access to a hot shower and a flushing toilet. I do prefer Four Seasons to Hooverville. Don't get me wrong, I love nature...but I love air conditioning and running water, too.

b) smocking: I started making my daughters' clothes and I loved it. Of course, I spent almost as much money buying expensive fabrics and cute smocking plates as I would have if I had just bought the dresses myself. I still have several (try 6 or 7) unfinished, half-smocked outfits that I haven't picked up in over a year.

c) my blog: before I started work I would spend hours a day looking at all the blogs in my blogroll and actually blogging. But somehow instead of being able to keep up just a little during the workweek, the blog fell by the wayside and I just ignored it. I stopped thinking in the "blog mode" and if I couldn't read and respond to all the blogs that I enjoyed I just kind of stopped.

I'm trying to get better about this all or nothing attitude that I have. The husband and I have just started a new hobby and I find myself falling into my familiar all or nothing pattern. We haven't even become fully certified to dive yet. We've only finished our pool instruction and a few dives at Vortex Spring and I find myself wanting to run out and buy cool (but expensive) SCUBA equipment and plan a big dive trip to Central America (am I crazy, do I really want to go somewhere that requires me to take anti-malaria medication?) I think that what I need to do is hold off on the big dive plans for now. I'm going to go slowly and take one dive at a time.....and spend a little more time blogging and catching up with my blog friends who I've missed.

Spring Break!!

2007-04-08T21:26:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately Spring Break is over, but we had a FABULOUS week. We started our weekend by just being lazy and grilling steaks and drinking beer and hanging out at home. Nothing is better than warm weather, a good steak and a cold beer!

We left Tuesday to go to Atlanta. First stop Zoo Atlanta. Sadly we missed the new baby panda, but we did see the cutest gorilla babies. They were adorable. Mom and baby were mimicking each other and the baby was even trying to take some steps. It was a lovely day somewhere around 80 degrees. As we drove toward our hotel, we noticed a commotion in Centennial Olympic Park and across the street at the CNN Center. The hotel (incorrectly) informed us that it was left over parties from the Final Four. As it turns out, we missed a shooting in the CNN center by about an hour.

The girls played in Centennial Park (after the hullabaloo ceased) and they were dying to play in the fountains with all the other kids, but we were starving and walked to dinner instead. I can now say I've eaten BISON. It tasted great, but it did a number on my stomach.

We made our first trip to the new and wonderful Georgia Aquarium on Wednesday morning. I was in awe. It was so much better than I expected. The whale sharks swam above our heads. Sea turtles were so close you felt like you could touch them. And they had a special native-Georgia section where the kids could touch some of the animals.

We left the Aquarium and headed to the Children's Museum, where the girls played for hours. Daughter #1 kept using a crane to dump plastic balls onto people's heads. And Daughter #2 painted on walls and played in the "moon sand." I don't know what this moon sand is exactly, but I have to admit I had fun playing with it, too. Finally we needed to be on our way, but we had to make one more stop. You can't make a trip to Atlanta without eating some greasy food at the Varsity. "What'll ya have?" "Chili dog, onion rings, and a F.O., please!!"

We dropped the kids off at the in-laws and headed to Augusta for the Masters. I'm not the biggest golf fan in the world. Granted, I grew up in a house where golf is my father's LIFE, but I can barely hit the ball and it's just a little too slow of a game to watch. But the Masters, that's a different story my friend. This is THE tournament, especially if your from Augusta. It's like a reunion of sorts, everyone is home and people have parties every night...you just don't miss it. The tournament is good golf, seeing friends, eating cheap egg-salad sandwiches (better than your grandma makes) and getting drunk on cheap keg beer during the daytime....itjustdontgetnobetterthanthis! It didn't hurt that conditions were dry, windy, and fast and made the golf challenging and REALLY fun to watch. So, congratulations to the humble Masters champion Zach Johnson.

We were at the course Thursday and Friday, so yesterday we went back to the inlaws for Easter. My mil of course cooked a huge meal for all of us today and we got to spend some good quality time with the fam.

We packed a lot into a week. I now need a vacation from my vacation. I'm going to watch Entourage and go to bed to get ready for another week (or 7) of all my little hellions at school.

HELLOOOO BRANDON!

2007-03-17T15:47:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in the last post. I'm going next month to see the KILLERS!! I'm so excited...Brandon Flowers, up close and personal. YUMMY!!

Did you miss me??

2007-03-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

I apologize for not posting in oh so long!! Sometimes life gets in the way of blogging (even if it's the same old thing day in and day out.)

My job is going really well. I'm so happy and I feel like I'm getting through to most of my students. I have several kids that I just adore. It's definitely been an adjustment, though. But I'm learning every day on how to be a better teacher. I've started doing "vocabulary rap" with them every time we start a new unit and they're loving it (but I think I enjoy it more!) I'm still having a difficult time with one class that is just off the chain. They are ALL talkers and it's driving me insane!!!

In other news, we took daughter #1 ice skating for her birthday and had so much fun. It's been YEARS since I've been on ice skates (since I was 14 or 15). I will admit that I did bust my butt, but only once, because I got a little (okay, a lot) too sure of myself and started trying to show off! So, my first baby, is now SEVEN! Time flies so quickly. She's getting a little attitude on her now that we are trying to get rid of before it gets too bad.

I'm doing the battle with myself again over public v. private school for the girls. I've registered them for our public schools now, but I'm still not positive that it's the right decision. I'll have to post more about that later.

I've missed all my bloggy buddies. But honestly I rarely get on my home computer anymore....shocker!! I'm so tired when I get home I go to bed early and then do it all over again. I only check my e-mail about every three days now (instead of every 30 minutes like I used to).

We have Spring Break coming up in a few weeks and we're taking the girls to Atlanta to the aquarium and the zoo, then then husband and I are taking off to go to the Masters. I'm willing to bet that the rest of the school year will fly by after that.

I'll try to get better about posting, but I'm not promising anything.....

4 weeks to undo 30 years

2007-02-03T09:06:00.000-05:00

I'm absolutely amazed at how in a mere four weeks, a 30-year schedule has been undone. I've always been a late-to-bed, late-to-rise kind of girl. I could stay up until two a.m. with ease, but I wanted to sleep until 10 (at least). I never understood when my mom would say she was "sleeping late" and meant 8am. NOW I GET IT!! I'm still getting in the bed around 8pm every night (I think I made it until 9 last night, since it was Friday) and even on Saturdays I'm awake by 7am and up by 7:30. How did this happen? I worked jobs before I had kids where I had to get up just as early and I never could go to bed so early and I always had trouble waking up. I think I know what's happened, but I REALLY REALLY don't want to admit it. It's a frightening, scary, unbelievable concept...one that I don't know if I dare to say out loud.

I THINK.....

I'm growing up.

Still Around...but barely

2007-01-29T20:49:00.000-05:00

I've just been so busy trying to adjust to the new schedule. I was hoping to blog at least on the weekends, but so far that hasn't happened yet. Two weekends ago I took Daughter #1 to see High School Musical on stage in Atlanta. Then last weekend, I was without "real" internet (I had dial-up only, and I just can't deal with that).

I appreciate everyone's well-wishes and concerns for my lack of blogging activity recently. Things are going well. I'm still getting adjusted to what my students already know vs. what they don't know. I'm amazed at their lack of writing skills. And they have no clue how to look up information in a book. I initially chalked this up to laziness, but I've come to the realization that they just haven't been taught properly somewhere in the system. I have mostly great students...I only have one class that is really driving me bonkers. But I genuinely LIKE them so much and I feel like I'm getting through to some of them. They're beginning to "chat" more about history than what they're going to do over the weekend and I consider that a good sign...although I often wish they would just be quiet and not "chat" at all, but ask questions. I feel like my TEACHING skills are pretty good, it's my CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT skills that need a little help. I'm slowly figuring out.

I'm still EXHAUSTED at the end of the day. I'm surprised I'm awake now at 9pm, I've been asleep almost every night by 7:30. Hopefully, I'll start getting better about this.

I'm going to try to do some blog reading this week. I'm missing my daily doses.

In Honor of MLK Day

2007-01-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

Read up on Charles Sherrod. He was one of the founders of SNCC and he helped initiate the "jail-no bail" policy in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He came to south Georgia to help register voters in Albany. He still lives down here and I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak. He is overlooked by many when discussing the civil rights movement, but he is a national treasure that should be remembered.

Thank you, Charles Sherrod, for all that you have contributed to this country.

A Bunch of Stuff

2007-01-15T11:49:00.000-05:00

The first week went well. I'm beginning to get to know my students and I'm pretty sure I know all of their names (at least when they stay in their assigned seats). The dynamics in all the classes are very different. One class is great: on task, quiet, understands information. One class is a little slow: they try so hard, but don't quite get things despite my attempts at sports analogies, role-playing, and diagram drawing. One class is just B.A.D. - mainly talkative, but smart comments as well. But I really like them all, some of them I would take home with me. But I'm amazed at how some of them have gotten through school until this point. For instance, we did a writing assignment (I won't even get into how badly they write) on what colony you would have wanted to live in and why...many of the answers were "Carolina because it's up north" Okay, I guess compared to where we live, Carolina is technically north of us, but "up north" um - not so much.
One thing I'm just going to have to come to grips with is that I live in a small, poor community and people here just haven't had certain life experiences. We wrote about why people move when discussing exploration and colonization and it broke my heart to read their answers. Some were writing about parents going to jail, losing jobs and moving into government housing, parents being killed, etc. I just wanted to give them all a great big hug.

I have been absolutely exhausted. I go to bed almost every night by 8:30. I haven't been blogging or catching up on my blog reading...and I miss it terribly. But I have a feeling that it will definitely take me a couple of weeks to get used to this new schedule.

I'm so looking forward to a paycheck, I can't stand it. We have a lot of "necessities" that will need to be taken care of in the next few months. We have some bills to pay off. We need a new roof. We have some trees that need to be taken down in our yard. But I can't wait until I'm able to afford the 3 M's. Call me shallow, but there are 3 things that I want to splurge on when I start seeing income. I call them my 3 M's. They are (in no particular order, of course) Manicure, Massage, and Maid...yep can't wait!! Just writing it down makes me feel good.

In other news, I met Nikita Koloff yesterday. For those of you who didn't follow wrestling back in the day, he was the "Russian - bad guy" wrestler. This was back when WWF sucked and all the cool people were in the WCW or NWO. No, I'm not (nor was I) and avid follower of wrestling, but my little brother was OBSESSED. I mean he would get pillows and wrestle with them while the matches were on. So having a limited number of televisions in our house in the 1980s, I got stuck watching wrestling on Saturdays with the brother. So, of course, he was the first person I called after I met him (no one else I know would even know who the heck he is). Turns out, he's not Russian at all...he's from Minneapolis. Ha...who knew?

What else has been going on, you ask? Surely in a week since my last blog entry I have found something interesting to do or something funny and/or snarky about which to blog. NOPE...sleep and school, that's about it.

I do have a nice fat employee benefits package to wade through today (if I actually WANT to get paid at the end of the month...which, of course, I do). I hate those things...all those confusing forms...YUCK!

First Day

2007-01-08T21:29:00.000-05:00

So I'm exhausted, but I thought I'd give an update on my first day with students. So far, only one pregnant 16 year old. She's due to deliver in just a few weeks, and I'm not sure how she'll manage to keep up with class. I don't have enough books for all my students, so the things they were supposed to do for homework I'm having to make class time for. I don't know when the books will be in, and I don't know how long I can keep making class time for those things. I'll fill you in more later on how things are going and how I'm handling it. So far, so good.

On another note: I'm having serious multiple personality disorder tonight. I HATE Florida. I'm a serious Gator Hater. But I want the SEC to represent...so I don't know who to pull for in the Ohio State/Florida game tonight. I initially wanted OSU to win by like 1 point, but now I find myself actually pulling for the hated Gators...only because they're SEC. But I won't be able to live with a Florida national championship next football season. AGH...the agony.

How Were the Planning Days? Thanks for asking!!

2007-01-07T11:31:00.000-05:00

First, I just want everyone to know, that I'm reading your comments and your blogs, but I haven't had time to respond. I'm trying to get used to this working thing. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Thursday I went in to work and got a good bit accomplished, but was still VERY nervous. I ended up asleep by 8pm. Friday when I left the school I felt much better. I think I'm actually ready for the kids to show up. I managed to stay up until 9:45. Last night we had a party to go to, so we went to bed LATE...I have a feeling I'll be in the bed by 8pm tonight.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you know how I feel about mornings. This getting up early and actually having to be dressed before leaving the house...it's difficult. I hope it gets easier, because getting my feet on the floor in the morning may be the hardest part of my day. And I'm exhausted by 2:00, and I don't even have students yet. I hope that I will still be effective for my last class of the day (assuming I'm effective for the first classes).

So, I think I"m ready for tomorrow. I have everything I need, and I know many of the students in my first class. So I'll see familiar faces first thing...to get me over being so nervous. Maybe eventually I'll learn everyone names, it may take me a while.

Not Again...

2007-01-03T13:51:00.000-05:00

I'm beginning to wonder more and more if I've chosen the right profession. I haven't even started my first day, and besides being nervous about the usual "stuff," I just read about ANOTHER school shooting. I don't understand this. If our kids (or teachers and administrators) aren't safe in our schools, where can they be safe. I can't imagine why people do these sorts of things. It makes me so sad and so disgusted.

I understand that high school can be tough for lots of people. Kids can be mean, exclusive, and with all those hormones raging...well, it can be a disaster at times. But this is really getting out of control. When Columbine happened, it was easy to blame the parents who missed (or just didn't want to see) very obvious signs of impending disaster. I don't know enough about many of the other shootings to know if they were that obvious, but I do know that we can't blame parents for everything that kids do (mine are very young and obviously have minds of their own, although I do try to make sure they know right from wrong and I check on "what they're up to" all the time).

But then one has to stop and take into consideration situations (like the Amish school in Pennsylvania) that some of these shootings are by people coming in from the outside. Now, I'm not going to get all Morgan Freeman in "Lean On Me" but I don't see why we can't lock people out (without locking people in...doors work that way).

These things are happening more and more frequently (check this link to see) and I just don't understand how anyone can be so cruel. Two things REALLY bother me about all of this (besides the obvious, of course).
1. These are generally young kids who are doing the shootings and I don't think they are fully aware of the consequences of their actions. They are still in that stage (no, I don't know what Piaget would have called it) where they think they are invincible and nothing bad can happen to them. The world revolves around them and they are selfish.
2. Why the hell do 14-17 year olds have access to guns anyway? Yes, yes I live in a small town in the rural South and I know all about 6 year olds who go hunting with Daddy. But Daddy needs to lock the gun up when he's not supervising his kid killing Bambi. You may think your teenager is responsible...but I don't think you should give anyone the benefit of the doubt when guns are involved.

And I know kids are still safer at school than they are out somewhere else. But, really, no one should have to worry about their kids while they're IN SCHOOL. It should be a safe place, a refuge from the crap their hormonal selves are dealing with outside of school. And, increasingly, the school is becoming a place of torment for kids (and not in the "I didn't study for my History test and if I fail my mom's gonna be pissed" kind of way).

What is different? Why, in the last few years, has this been happening again and again? What can we do to keep our schools safe? And what can we do stop this from happening again?

I wish I knew.

A Little Blog Maintenance

2007-01-03T09:36:00.000-05:00

These blogs are like chain letters (if no one stops it). You find a link and keep going and going and reading and reading and finding more and more interesting people and their blogs. I'm long overdue on a some blog maintenance. So I've updated my Blogroll with my new bloggy friends...go check it out. If you are a lurker, I encourage to you to stop and leave me a note. If you come here pretty regularly and I have somehow missed you, let me know. And if you have linked to me, PLEASE let me know so I can return the favor.

Happy blogging everyone!

It's Getting Closer

2007-01-02T20:18:00.000-05:00

The day I go to work, that is. I start on Thursday and my students will show up on Monday. I spent the day working on lesson plans; trying to figure out how I'm going teach all these 11th graders about something in which they hold no interest...and get them to actually like it. And all I can think is I'M A FRAUD!! I have NO CLUE what I'm doing. But, I'm pretty good at faking it...so I'll just fake it until I get it right, I guess.

Besides worrying about the actual teaching part of having my first job in almost 7 years, I'm a little concerned about my girls. I know children are much more resilient and adaptable than we give them credit for, but I've been a stay-at-home mom (and part time student) since Daughter #1 was born. They are going to have to be in the after-school program every day and for a while it will be almost dark when they get home. It will be all I can do to get dinner cooked, get them bathed, and get them in the bed before I crash myself. I'm really hoping that I will have time to feel "normal"...whatever that is. I just want to be able to devote time to them...and energy to The Husband!!

The blog may take on a more "schooly" (yes, I make adjectives by simply adding y's...and I'm going to teach your kids ha ha) tone for a little while, until I get adjusted to being both me and teacher me. Please don't let that make you run screaming, I promise tales...and you never know what those kids will say.

Tomorrow is my last day of not working full-time in an extremely long time...the plus side is that in one month I'll have my first full-time employed paycheck. Don't laugh. I know it's only teacher salary...but it's a helluva lot better than what I've been paid for all the "work" I've done the last seven years...which is $0.00.

New Year's Early Morning Streaming

2007-01-01T02:49:00.000-05:00

Matt always has Streaming Fridays, and I'm exhausted but can't sleep, so I'm having an early morning/late night Streaming New Year.

We went for an early dinner and were home by nine. Of course, because we live in Podunk Nowhereville, the establishment in which we ate was not serving alcoholic beverages. Because it's Sunday, for those of you who don't have Blue Laws. Luckily, The Husband thought ahead and did pack a small cooler, since we could BYOB.

I really wanted to go out for a while after our dinner, but our babysitter had big plans. I always feel like I don't pay enough. I want it to be worth their while to stay with two kids, but I don't want to break the bank either. What do you pay a sitter?? Anyway, we released the sitter from her duties and basically just sat around until midnight.

Daughter #1 made it up until midnight wiggling her tooth the entire time. Her top tooth is extremely loose and is grossing me out. I could never pull it, it's just...well, yuck. And I just know she's going to get those big old permanent teeth that are way too big for her face and she'll go through that awkward phase...of course she'll be beautiful. She just won't be my baby anymore.

Daughter #2 crashed by 10. The Husband and I went to bed at approximately 12:03. I had just fallen asleep when the doorbell started ringing (at 1:15am) My drunk neighbor (who is a very good friend) wanted me to come out and play...she had been to a party and had just gotten home. I went out and heard about her night and promptly went back to bed...tossing and turning and counting backwards from 1 million, but nope nothing. So here I am at 3:00 in the morning and I can't sleep.

And now all I can think of is that I actually have a job and I need to be prepared for it and I have no idea how I'm going to be ready.

The Husband will get a great night's sleep and wake up and put our pork on the grill. I'll take Daughter #1 to horseback riding and hopefully be able to catch a nap before our company comes to eat. Boston Butt, turnip greens, and black-eyed peas...it'll make you slap your grandma. I'm going to hate myself in the morning for getting up and answering the door...okay, I already do.

So anyway, a very happy new year to you and yours. I've been an active blogger lately, so I'm sure I'll have something else (trivial) to say later...watch for it!!

Happy New Years Eve!!

2006-12-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

GEORGIA 31 Virginia Tech 24

2006-12-30T23:37:00.000-05:00

Glory, Glory to Old Georgia
Glory, Glory to Old Georgia
Glory, Glory to Old Georgia
And the heck with Virginia Tech!!!

Resolutions for the New Year??

2006-12-30T13:36:00.000-05:00

I am notoriously bad at keeping New Year's resolutions, so I generally don't make them anymore. I think that I tend to try to make grand, sweeping, life changes that are ridiculously difficult to keep. So this year I'm not really making resolutions, but small steps to better my life.

Some things I would love to do that I know I won't are
1. quit smoking completely,
2. wake up early and have breakfast with the family,
3. keep the house straight and spotless
...so I'm not even going to try.

So here are the few things that I want to do next year...
1. Eat better. We've been eating too much junk food and fast food recently and I need to get back into the habit of cooking healthier meals.
2. Wake up in time for the kids to eat breakfast (even if it's just a granola bar), so we're not frantic in the mornings.
3. Cut back on my smoking and drinking. (I think working full-time will automatically help in this department).
4. Rejoin the gym. It makes me feel so much better when I go.
5. Be more organized. This one will be hard for me, but I'm going to work on it.
6. Pay off debt and start saving more money...to travel.

None of these are impossible to achieve, so I think I can do it.

2006 Re-Cap

2006-12-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

January - My baby brother married the girl of his dreams.
February - I took a long-term substituting position at the high school and confirmed my desire to be a teacher.
March - Daughter #1 turned 6 years old.
April - The Husband and I went to The Masters.
May - The Husband and I celebrated eight years of marriage and Daughter #1 graduated from Kindergarten
June - Daughter #1 attended the camp where I went as a child (I was insanely jealous)
July - Our family took a trip to The Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC to celebrate my cousins wedding.
August - Daughter #2 started her first school year in K3 and Daughter #1 began 1st grade.
September - I went on a fun girls weekend to Isle of Palms. The Husband, kids, and I attended a few Georgia football games.
October - I started my blog.
November - I celebrated my birthday. The Husband and I took a vacation to the beach (by ourselves).
December - I FINALLY graduated from college!!!!!

“I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.” -Socrates

2006-12-29T09:49:00.000-05:00

I've been reading blogs now for a couple of months. At some point, I had a need to join this community of people who put themselves into the blogosphere. I read the blogs of people who have varying interests and personalities and I have come to regard many of these people as "friends" even though I don't even know their real names or what they look like.

My blog is like my imaginary friend or imaginary therapist, that's really not imaginary. But I keep it a secret. I don't want my "real-life" friends to know that I have it or to read it. I don't think I have necessarily revealed anything about myself that I should be ashamed of, but this is something that is my own. I think it would change what I write if I thought people I really know read it.

Being a blogger though, is changing me, I think. I've never been a good writer. I can get my point across well enough, but my thoughts are not organized and my words not fluid. My writing style (or lack of) has never really bothered me before. But now I see all of these wonderful writers and it makes me want to, at least, improve my writing skills. Many of the blogs I read are by people who are aspiring writers. I have no desire to write the great American novel. But I would like to go on and get my Masters and Doctorate degrees, and for that I would like to write better.

Blogging has also made me realize I'm not as smart as I thought I was. I can explain Plato's Allegory of the Cave. I can discuss the Protestant Reformation at great length. I can tell you that Hans Holbein is to this day, wrongly accused in regards to portrait of Anne of Cleves. I can explain the economic factors that led to the Salem Witch Trials, etc. etc. etc. Maybe, it's not that I'm not as smart as I thought I was, maybe it's that everyone else is smarter than I thought. Or maybe it's that people who write blogs are generally an intelligent group of people.

So my blogger friends have inspired me. You have made me want to learn more, to write better, to be wittier, to be a better person. I didn't know this would happen. I thought this blog would just be a place for me to put down some random thoughts instead of paying a therapist or boring The Husband with my randomness. While it has remained that, it has also become a sort of refuge, a semi-imaginary world in which I can work on "things" that I don't want others to know I'm working on.

**Song of the Moment - I Know What I Know by Paul Simon (it just seemed fitting with this post.)

My Formal Title

2006-12-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Royal Highness Aisby the Strange of Londinium-le-Thames
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

A Tip For Procrastinators

2006-12-28T14:06:00.000-05:00

So I did actually get the house in order before everyone came here for Christmas (thanks in great part to Daughter #2). But now, it is a disaster again. Christmas gifts litter the den floor. Ornaments are falling off the wilted tree. And I, of course, have no desire to get off my duff and clean them up. Oh, don't get me wrong, I want it clean...I just don't want to actually have to participate in the cleaning process. (I may have mentioned before how much I hate to clean...ya think?)

So, for Christmas, I bought The Husband the DVD's of Northern Exposure. He and I both love this show. It's witty and amusing and Rob Morrow is a HOTTIE (I don't know what it is, but I have a thing for Jewish guys). So instead of cleaning up, I've been watching Northern Exposure until my eyes hurt. It's such a good show and watching episode after episode after episode is such a waste a time...a perfect combination for the ultimate procrastinator.

Maybe I'll run out of episodes by tomorrow and actually get a few things accomplished....maybe...or not.

Post Holiday Meltdown

2006-12-28T11:00:00.000-05:00

Is it time for school to start back up yet??? My kids are driving me bonkers. They have been out of school for almost two weeks now and I'm so ready for them to go back. I hope I can make it through the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I adore my kids and I have loved spending time with them and having them home, but now...it's time to go back to school.

The week before Christmas was nice as we were gearing up for the holiday and everyone knows that Santa watches children extra closely that week. The girls were on their best behavior.

Christmas Day was fun, the girls were so sweet and thankful for their gifts. Tuesday they continued to play with their new treasures...but then yesterday it all fell apart. The sweet loving sisters charade has ended.

Yesterday I took Daughter #2 for her four-year immunizations. I decided that since I had both girls there already, we would go ahead and get flu shots. Well Daughter #1 couldn't keep her mouth shut about Daughter #2 getting shots, so she was terrified and wouldn't do anything the nurse or doctor asked of her. Then when Daughter #1 realized she was getting a shot as well, it was freak-out time.

I, of course, resorted to what mom's always do when they don't know what to do...bribery. We would go get Zaxby's for lunch and go get Baby Alive a bunch of diapers if they would just get the shot and act "right". It worked for about two hours. We got out of the pediatrician's office, got through lunch, and made it home. The moment we walked in the door the whining began (what happened to the good old days when they were babies and would sleep for 10 hours after immunizations?)

They whined all afternoon yesterday and have been whining all morning today. It's driving me crazy. I finally told them to get themselves dressed and go outside to play. I'm forcing them to have fun. If I hear one more whiny voice I may snap.

They've misplaced coats and shoes and anything else that isn't tied down. I can't get anything cleaned up because they mess up right behind me. So here I sit on the computer trying to tune out the whining.

Summer vacation never seems as bad as Christmas vacation, why is that? It's five times as long. I think it must have something to do with the weather and going on vacation or you just get used to them being home all day for that long.

Thoughts about the death of a president.

2006-12-27T13:47:00.000-05:00

I'm not naive to think that everything about our nation's past is "the good ole days." I am a history person for crying out loud. When I hear people speaking of how everything today is going to hell in a handbasket, I guffaw, and try to refrain from explaining the worse things in our collective past. But I am an optimist. I don't believe that most people are intentionally cruel. I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories that suggest everyone (especially anyone with any type of power) is out to get me. I believe that everyone has some goodness in them. And I believe that goodness and "bad"ness are communicable diseases.

I think that many politicians go into politics for the right reasons (at least I really, really want to believe that). I don't think that everyone who gets into politics is looking for the power (most already have considerable power...they would have to in order to afford the cost of a campaign). I believe that our nation's leaders are often faced with difficult decisions and they do the best that they know how to do with the information they have at the time. I think they also often make incorrect decisions and don't know how to admit it.

Gerald Ford will be remembered as the man who became President after Nixon resigned. He will be remembered for pardoning Nixon. He will be remembered as the one President in this country's history who was never elected President or Vice-President. That's how I'll remember him (well, that and he basically, finally, ended the Vietnam War).

Ford became President at a time when this nation was struggling to understand it's place in the world. He took the place of a President who is resigned to infamy in this country's collective memory. I, personally, believe that Ford had to pardon Nixon; the country could not have moved on without it. But Ford sealed his fate. The United States looked for a country peanut farmer with no real previous prevalence in politics to take us back to simplicity and innocence that had been lost between the death of Kennedy and Ford's election loss. But that innocence had been lost and will not be regained.

Regardless of Ford's politics or his efficiency in the Oval Office, I am saddened at the loss of a President of the United States. I only remember the deaths of Nixon, Reagan, and now Ford, but all three have really touched me (yes, even Nixon.) When I look back at early photos and films of these men with their optimism and hope for the country I am always amazed at how tired and old they look at the end of their tenure. The Presidency is still something prestigious and special in my eyes. I look at the office (not always the office-holder) with a childlike respect and awe. And no matter the actions of the men who actually have held the office, the Presidency itself is important and amazing.

Today, a piece of American history is gone. A leader of the free world has been removed from the world in which he led. It makes me sad, but it also makes me, for some reason, a little hopeful, as well.

Gerald Ford Dead at 93

2006-12-27T09:30:00.000-05:00

Something about the death of a former President stirs something patriotic in me. I'm not sure what it is, but it makes me almost nostalgic for something that I'm not sure ever really existed. I'm going to think on this one for a while and get back to you.

The Best Christmas Ever

2006-12-26T22:53:00.000-05:00

This may have been one of the best Christmases ever. We really had a very nice time.
My brother and his wife came down Friday night. My parents came down Saturday and took the girls to my grandmother's house to spend the night (so we could drink heavily with my brother and his wife, which we did with gusto!) After they left on Sunday morning, my parents, grandmother, and kiddos showed up and I started cooking.

Our Christmas Eve dinner was divine (if I do say so myself). We had a gorgeous beef tenderloin stuffed with blue cheese, parsley, and mushrooms, and a beautiful salad with mandarin oranges, blue cheese, and bacon, and some wonderful bread. We stuffed ourselves silly. Traditionally we eat the "big" meal on Christmas day, but everyone had to leave here by noon on the 25th so we decided to eat well on the Eve.

Christmas morning, I woke up and had made quiche and cinnamon rolls for everyone after I had about a pot of coffee...considering the girls did not go to sleep until after 11pm and then I had to put together all the Santa Claus with a drunk husband (he and my Dad decided to drink heavily in order to deal with my grandmother).

After breakfast, we opened gifts...and Oh My!! I was spoiled rotten. I received entirely too much (I really didn't think I had been all that good this past year). But here's a little rundown of my great fortune.

6 antique dining room chairs (plus getting them recovered in a fabric of my choice)

a beautiful wool coat

David Yurman bracelet

this coat from Old Navy, only in dark chocolate brown

a kick-ass pair of James Jeans

a teapot lamp

a monogrammed bag from L.L. Bean to carry all my "stuff" to work

a new pocketbook (it's larger than I normally carry, but it's BEAUTIFUL)

an autographed copy of America: The Last Best Hope

a fantastic belt (unfortunately this picture does it no justice)

Plus some new earrings, some new Adidas workout wear, a monogrammed scarf, a silver jewelry box...

See what I mean...I feel like a PRINCESS!!

Not only did I a whole bunch of great gifts, I had a great time with my family.

How was your holiday???

Moravian Sugar Cake

2006-12-22T13:49:00.000-05:00

I was checking how people have been finding my blog (because I'm bored and I don't want to clean). And I noticed that almost all of the last few searches that led people to me were people looking for a recipe for Moravian Sugar Cake. I didn't post a recipe when I wrote about how much I love it, so I will include one now.
Let me just say, this recipe can be time consuming and it doesn't taste half as good as Winkler Bakery's Sugar Cake, but if you don't want to order from Dewey's and you think you want to make it yourself....here you are!

Moravian Sugar Cake

1/2 cup Warm water -- 110 deg.
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
2 packages Yeast
3/4 cup Warm water -- 110 deg.
1/2 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Dry milk
1/4 cup Instant mashed potatoes -- dry
1/2 cup Butter -- melted
2 Eggs
6 cups Flour
1 cup Brown sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup Butter -- melted

Add yeast to 1/2 c. warm water and 1/2 t. sugar. Set aside until yeast bubbles.
Add next 7 ingredients plus 1 c. flour. Beat 2 min. with electric mixer on medium speed.
With wooden spoon, add remaining flour.
Place in a greased bowl; turn once to grease top of dough.
Cover and let rise until double - about 1 hour.
Punch down dough and put in greased jelly roll pan.
Let rise in warm place for 30 min.
Spread evenly in pan and sprinkle evenly with brown sugar and cinnamon.
Make shallow indentations with fingers and drizzle with 1/2 c. melted butter.
Let rise 30 min.
Bake until golden brown (about 12-15 min.) at 375 deg.

Because I Can't Put Together a Coherent Thought...

2006-12-22T11:03:00.000-05:00

I'm just going to ramble.

I went to dinner with The Husband and some friends last night, partly to celebrate (me, of course, what else?) and partly just because we hadn't all gotten together in quite some time. But here's the thing. I am really bad at knowing when to say "no more drinks for me." In fact, I rarely say it. So, before we left for dinner I had some beers. At dinner, I shared two bottles of red wine with two of my friends. And then, someone (not me, I promise) came up with the brazilliant idea that we would go to the (one and only) cheesy bar in town. And it was Karaoke night. Let me first say that I did NOT sing. But I did embarrass myself on the dance floor and embarrassed myself further playing pool.

When I drink I do not sing, I dance. I don't know why I do this, but I do....well this place had big dance-studio style mirrors by the dance floor. Good Lord, I never knew that's what I looked like...I may have to stop dancing. (plus, I've put on a few pounds and it doesn't look good on me, espcecially when I'm thrusting and gyrating to a beat).

Today, I feel like crap. My company will be here this afternoon. I still haven't completely finished cleaning. I need to mop the kitchen floor and vacuum the downstairs. But the thought of running the vacuum cleaner is making my head pound.

I'm hungry and need some greasy food. A chili dog, a cheeseburger, and hamburger steak with onions and gravy sound delicious. Plus, I need fries. And ranch dressing.

And I still stink...I smell like a bar. Beer and cigarette funk, is what I smell like. I need a shower. I think I'll eat first!

I'm betting the floor won't get vacuumed today.

Not Feeling So Well...

2006-12-22T09:37:00.000-05:00

Will find something to blog about later....maybe.

I've Seen Santa In A New Light!

2006-12-21T13:53:00.000-05:00

This has gotten me in the Christmas spirit. He's not as sexy as Taffy's Santa, but he's FUN!

P.S. Don't forget to fill my stocking!

A BIG THANK YOU!!

2006-12-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

The Very Nice Man at The Electronic Firefly put together this new banner for me, so you wouldn't have to scroll down a kilometer before reading all the interesting things I blog. He definitely lives up to his name, as he truly is a very very nice man.

So, from Jawga to Englund, Thayank yeew!!

Because Friday is Global Orgasm Day

2006-12-21T01:05:00.000-05:00

Yes it is...who knew? Mommy Has A Headache has a great post about it and how appropriate the words "Everybody Come Together Right Now" are to this all-important day. Apparently, the release of energy due to everyone in the world having an orgasm on the same day will bring about world peace.
I don't know about you, but I'm going for it.

Santa Baby, Fill My Stocking With...Whatever You Want

2006-12-21T00:28:00.000-05:00

But, you're welcome to refer to this list!

Xmas Stocking

leave a gift for Aisby

get your stocking

In case you were wondering about the pictures...

2006-12-20T10:57:00.000-05:00

If you were wondering what all the pictures are in my new banner, I'll fill you in.

Thinker, the arches at the University of Georgia, the capitol building in Atlanta, peach trees
BEER, my cute little avatar, the new(est) Georgia flag, my favorite coffee (Chock Full of Nuts)
another picture of the gold dome on the capitol building, more peach trees, Uga V, the arches (this time with a view of downtown Athens)
The Cloister at Sea Island (where the rich play), The Jekyll Island Club (where the rich used to play), Savannah, and again the Thinker.

Happy Birthday!

2006-12-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

Today Daughter #2 is four years old. I can't believe that my baby is now four. She's grown so fast. It seems like that I came home from the hospital after a traumatic birthing experience just last Christmas.
We're going to one of those paint your pottery places today and possibly taking her to see her first movie in theater tonight.
She's so proud of being four, but she's pretty p.o.'ed that she's not SIX (like her big sister).

**I can't get this picture any smaller and stupid blogger won't upload anything properly...agh!