Day 66 of 365: Baby Willow!

I think Aunt Mandy was telling little Willow all about the plans she has to teach her about the fun things in life! Willow was listening intently. In fact, she's got all kinds of fun faces! My favorite is her "oh my goodness!" surprised look. She's such a great baby. Hardly cried yesterday except when she was hungry or needed changing. She just slept and ate and hung out. She wasn't anxious at all being passed around and held by all of us, either. I can't wait to go back and see her today!!

Day 65 of 365: RED!

Saw this at the supermarket tonight. I was really thinking hard what I could do for this week's theme and as soon as I was on the other (far!) side of the store, I thought about the apples! :)

Day 64 of 365: Awww! How cute!!

I bought these today for the baby. The colorful bits are hand crocheted onto the socks. I'll be working on getting some other stuff before I go up there on Friday. I love baby stuff!! :)

Day 63 of 365: PUCK! :(

This is from tonight's slaughter, uh, hockey game vs. the Philadelphia Flyers. Quite a disappointment- we lost 7-0!!! I love this shot, though. The colors, the composition, and the fact that my favorite player (Eric Perrin) is in the photo!!

Next time, Flyers, next time!!!!!!

Day 62 of 365: Baby time!

Meet Willow, my first niece! 6lbs 10oz, born this morning at 5:30! This is a screenshot of a photo my brother took. They are in Virginia so I can't take any photos myself yet, until we go up this weekend. I tried taking a photo of the screen with my camera but couldn't get a clear shot. I figure the computer camera counts still, right??

Stay tuned for more pictures this weekend!! :)

Day 61 of 365: Changing...

In just the past week, leaves have really begun to change here. It's beautiful, especially since many trees are in transition. I plan on documenting the progress every Sunday on here. Eventually there won't be many leaves left to photograph! October is my favorite month here in Georgia. We get decent weather, little rain, beautiful light and no pollen!

Day 60 of 365: Proper curry in the US?

Went to Whole Foods today after work to get some steel cut oatmeal. Then I see this fabulous new curry sauce that appears to be pretty authentic and ready to use (in fresh veg area, not canned foods). Of course I decide at that point that I just MUST try it. It was a bit expensive (on sale for $6.49!!) but when I thought about how much it is to buy restaurant indian food that's not nearly as good, I figured why not? So I got some nice organic mushrooms and jalapenos and a can of garbanzos to add to it, along with some basmati brown rice and naan bread! I also added some onion and quorn chicken I already had at home. I'm so excited about the naan! I heated it up on the stove with a tiny bit of olive oil and it was soooooo good. Went great with the curry (which was also fantastic!). Easy to use and tasted very authentic.

A couple of sidenotes:
-I'm definitely learning more about the features of my camera! I learned how to adjust the flash intensity with this picture. I can't stand when the flash is too bright and bounces off the subject. That's a useful feature of the camera! :)
-Also, I brought my WF London bag with me today into WF. A worker brought me over to his manager to meet him and show him my bag! The manager had not been to the London store, but knew about it and had visited it "virtually" (I assume they have some online feature to do so). We chatted for a bit about the store in London and also about the changes to the local store here. It may be a long shot, but can't hurt to have a contact there in my back pocket. Who knows, right??

Day 59 of 365: The lighthouse

This is the lighthouse. A giant, plastic lighthouse that gets passed from teacher to teacher at our school (which explains why it's slightly crooked!!) There's a program called "Lighthouse Class of the Week" that the students do. They nominate a teacher and class period to be the recipient. They give reasons why the teacher is deserving, then the administration (?) vote on the week's winner and present the giant plastic lighthouse and a framed certificate to the teacher! It's very sweet and really is quite an honor since the students themselves nominate you. I missed the original announcement on the school morning announcements Monday (I wasn't at school that day!) but today, I came into my classroom and it was sitting on my desk, along with the certificate and mints for each of the students. They were very excited and proud that we won. So am I. :)

Day 58 of 365: Water theme of the week

Well, I tried. I have wanted to take a picture of the aquarium for a while now. In fact I tried to about 10 days ago, but the pictures didn't come out the way I wanted so I did something else for that day. Unfortunately, I don't have a way to apply polarizing filtering to my camera so the reflections are clearly visible. However, I was attempting to take a slow motion shot with the water moving from level to level. I've adjusted the contrast and brightness some to compensate for the longer exposure. If anything, I had fun experimenting even if the results aren't exactly what I envisioned.... Work in progress, I suppose.

Day 57 of 365: Driving home

The view I saw while driving home from Fleet Feet tonight. The sky was beautiful but I couldn't catch it well enough in the photos I was able to take. That's a co-worker driving home in the red convertible to the right of the frame. This is only about 7:00. It's really getting dark here early. Winter is coming, I guess. :(

Day 56 of 365: Apple heaven

Crispy, lightly sweet and lightly tart taste. This is the best apple I've ever had. EVER. They are best just on their own. I have used a couple in salads this weekend and it was amazing! :) They come from Minnesota and are relatively new. They have a short season and are only available for a couple of months every year. They are a bit expensive, but worth every penny. I stock up every week.

Day 55 of 365: Tar-zhay

Look where I went today in the middle of the afternoon! I had a day off work for a doctor's appointment then I got to go do my weekly grocery shopping today. $49 for a week's worth of groceries! Niiiice! :) Can you see what a beautiful day it was, too? What a perfect day to get a day off!
Now I'm feeling spoiled. I don't want to go to work tomorrow either. Damn commitments!

Day 54 of 365: Circle, circle, dot, dot.. now I've got my flu shot!

I got my flu shot today. My arm still aches. I'm told I should get one every year since I am a teacher and working with kids. This puts me in a high risk flu category. At least I got a cool shiny bandaid!!

Day 53 of 365: Atlanta at night

I took this one tonight as I was on my way to the Thrashers-Sabres hockey game (we won 3-2 in a shoot out by the way!!) The Marta was taking way too long just so I could go one more stop. I figured I could walk it quicker than I could get there by continuing to wait. I'm glad I did. It was a nice evening and I enjoy walking around in the city. Couldn't take too many shots of this (I was already late to the game and also I didn't want to attract too much attention lest I started getting harassed by the panhandlers around there), but I like the lights glowing in this shot. The Coke sign is cool, too, since Atlanta is the home of Coca Cola of course.

Oh, and I was being silly and figured I could imagine I was in London by walking on the left side of the pavement. I'm such a dork, but it made me laugh!

Day 52 of 365: Oops!

Um, pardon the mess, too, by the way... But I wanted to remember this great wine I had last night! I took a chance and just bought it at the supermarket. It was great! :) Reminded me how much I like Cotes du Rhone. It was a wonderful way to enjoy my first Friday night off in about 6 weeks.

Day 51 of 365: We've hit the big time!!

Leaving school and on my way to the first of 3 tutoring jobs today, there was a big traffic line getting through the light. As I approach, I see all this! There were also huge catering and equipment trucks (nearly 18 wheelers) in the tiny parking lot, as well. I snapped this from inside my car, while trying not to hold up traffic any more than it was. I found out later that apparently Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are filming a movie in my little suburb town! This is literally .65 miles from my apartment (I know that because I run by here all the time!) Pretty exciting. I called my sister and she couldn't believe I didn't stop. She just said to me "But what if it is JUDE LAW?!" I told her that unfortunately, I had to go tutor! Ashton's a bit too young for me. ;)

Day 50 of 365: No, I promise I won't wear it over there....

Detail of my new running shirt. Was looking around during a slow moment at the running shop and this was hanging on the sale rack. Apparently it was part of a series that came out for the Olympics this summer. There were all sorts of countries available. This was one of 2 left. Before I looked, I said "if it's my size, then it's meant to be!" It was my size. :) Got a sweet deal at 50% off, too!!

Day 49 of 365: Beans, beans, good for the heart....

First thing I've tried from the British foods section of the supermarket. I thought they might be a safe choice since normally beans can't be that different, right? Final verdict- less sweet than American versions (I usually have Bush's vegetarian beans). Not bad. Just regular ol' beans. Was a bit dear at $1.89 for the can, though!

Day 48 of 365: I see the moon and the moon sees me!

This was the moon I saw as I stopped for the mail at the mailbox hut tonight. I liked the color of the sky and the full (or nearly full) moon over the rooftop. That building is my apartment building. I turn left at the street before it and go around to the parking lot on the other side. My apartment faces that parking lot.

Day 47 of 365: Autumn is here!

I saw this scene as I drove to tutoring this afternoon and decided to come back and photograph it. This is along Park Bridge Parkway that is about a quarter mile from my apartment. I have gone running along this road in the past (there's a paved sidewalk on the right, there) but I don't like the killer hills or the fact that the sidewalk is very uneven. I'm so paranoid I will fall and twist an ankle on it!

I like the light in this photo. It's about 5:00pm and you can really tell that it is changing to full-on Autumn. This is also part of my morning route to work. It's usually speeding by me at 60mph at that point, though! Uh, I mean, I totally respect the speed limit wherever I drive....

Day 46 of 365: The Hindu Temple

This is the largest Hindu temple in North America! And it's right behind the Walgreen's around the corner from my parents' house! It's very, very beautiful. I visited it last spring with the 7th grade classes on a field trip. They change the colors occasionally depending on what's going on in the Hindu calendar (it was explained to us before). I was driving by and just thought this would be a cool photo, especially since I had my camera with me. I took some others that were face on without the gazebo blocking the view, but they were crooked as I was on a slight incline apparently! Either way, I still love the temple at night and the people milling about that give you a perspective on how huge it is!!!

Day 45 of 365: Working at the car wash, the car wash yeah...

Splurged on a professional car wash today (this is only my fourth or fifth ever!) I found
tiny ants crawling in there this morning. I did my best "big girl" impression and didn't freak out when I saw them. I had to go to work, though, and didn't have time to deal with it then. It looks like they are inside the door frame itself!!! I will get some ant spray and kill them tomorrow. At this point, at least it's clean inside. I swear I'm not a pig who never cleans! I don't even eat in the car!

Day 44 of 365: Always something there to remind me...

My most favorite shopping bag, waiting to go back downstairs into my car after being used today. It gets quite a bit of attention every time I use it at the supermarket. I got it this summer while in London. Everyone is surprised when I tell them there's actually a Whole Foods in London (which is the most super coolest WF I've ever been to in my life!!) I love that bag because I can sort of pretend for a moment that I am in London shopping (as silly as that sounds). It makes me smile every time I pick it up and use it!

day 43 of 365: Practice

Here are some of the boys doing a drill (sort of like "suicides" in basketball). It's difficult taking photos through the glass by the ice, but I think this one turned out well. It was really fun watching them practice and interact with each other! Eric Perrin seems to be a joker (was laughing several times with other players). When Eric Christensen fell on the ice at one point (while going for a goal) everyone burst into laughter! At least they have fun. It's good to see some kind of chemistry between the players. Let's hope it can translate to a good season!

And sorry to "cheat", but here are a few others taken with players that I wanted to include as a sort of PS to this post. :)

Bryan Little with me (pardon the "I just rolled out of bed" look, but it was rainy and I was really tired!)

Garnett Exelby with me

Johan Hedberg (goalie, obviously) and me! I had asked him if it was ok to call him Hedberg instead of "moose" as most fans call him! He told me I could call him whatever I liked. :)

Mandy with Colby Armstrong. She likes him a lot (and so do I now!) since he's from the Pittsburgh Penguins which is her favorite team!!

This is me with Tobias Enstrom. I was about to kill my sister because she couldn't work my camera!!!! I felt like an idiot!!!!!

Day 42 of 365: Happy Birthday Mandy!

She looks kind of evil there, but she's really not! She's just a total goofball hamming it up for the camera. It was her 31st birthday today. We purposely posed the candles with the 1 lying down like that just to be funny, I suppose. We went to a place called Fontaines that's known for its raw oysters. Being the veg, I passed on them and went for the fettucine alfredo with broccoli. Oh, and 3 beers. ;) We had a good time. I'm glad I am off tomorrow from work (pre-scheduled doctor's appointment) and could hang out with her and friends on a Tuesday night. I even got to see our mutual friend Nenna from the old Container Store days who I haven't seen in years! Good times... :)

Day 41 of 365: My School (Not quite as exciting as cock soup, though)

Here's the entrance to my school where I teach! It's fairly standard design for all the schools around here. In fact, I worked at another local middle school down the street before coming here, and it has the exact same layout, only mirror image! It took some getting used to when I first came here, especially since my room was on the same hallway as it was before. I still sometimes get turned around if I'm not thinking!

There are a few parents milling about the breezeway there. They are on the beautification committee, I believe. They were discussing whether or not to put in pavers (stone steps) leading to the grass from the sidewalk and if they thought the kids would actually use them! I'm pretty sure they wouldn't!!

Day 40 of 365: Lord only knows....

I'm surprised the supermarket is even carrying this! I was browsing in the "ethnic" foods aisle and was all excited because they now have strawberry drink syrup that I can use in my French classes to make diabolos fraise (strawberry syrup + sprite. Sort of like a shirley temple.) Then my eyes came upon the word "COCK" in giant letters! I am glad I happened to have my camera with me today!

Day 39 of 365: THRASHERS!!

Oh sweet hockey. How I've missed you.

Too bad we lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-1 in this game. Thank goodness it was just a pre-season game and doesn't count!

Day 38 0f 365:Recycling

Uh, you think it's time to get to the recycling center? I haven't been able to go due to the gas crisis, but now it's out of hand! Please note, this is many weeks worth of bottles!! I'm not that much of a lush!! At least I have good taste... right?

Day 37 of 365: Back to real life...

Who knew that Target could be so helpful? I was taking out the trash the other day (with the trash in the bags on my windshield) and noticed this list on the side of the bag for the first time. Odd photo I know, but I felt like sharing my fun discovery. Quite a let down after yesterday's entry. This time last night.... :(

Oh, and notice number 3. Could that be considered encouraging deliquency??

Day 36 of 365: Maroon 5!!

I will be uploading a photo of the boys shortly! I won't be home till after midnight from the concert so I wanted to go ahead and make a post place holder! :)

I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself!!!

EDIT: So that's the photo I chose. It was difficult! I have several really great shots (and many good ones!) I was able to be right close to the stage. It was so amazing! I had a great time. I still can't believe I was there, and Adam was there, and I was close, and he was close! LOL The group sounded great, too! They only played an hour and fifteen minutes or so- all the hits, plus a few unexpected ones- Tangled, Sweet Kiwi, cover of that Chris Isaak song (was great!), then they went off stage for a minute and then came back for an encore. Sadly they only played one song (Harder to Breathe! Can't believe I didn't realize they hadn't done it yet!!) I got some video of it, which is great picture quality wise, but the sound is bad. I got shivers when they did Won't Go Home Without You. Wow wow wow. He put on a great show. I look forward to seeing them again soon, whenever they come on their own!!! (Counting Crows was double billed with them- thus the short set. While entertaining, I really wanted to see Maroon 5. :( )