Day 218 of 365: Back up

I've been downloading so much lately, that my laptop was getting full. Luckily I've got a 250gb external hard drive where I can store all my watched shows! Thing is, it's already half full, too!

Day 217 of 365: Sibling love!

Self portrait with my brother Mike and sister Mandy in the parking lot of the restaurant/bar we met at for dinner. We were all a little bit tipsy, but Mandy had especially enjoyed her beers! Luckily Mikey was there and could drive them to the concert they were going to right after dinner. It was a lot of fun to have sibling only time! We haven't done this in a long time. Hopefully we'll have more chances to meet up this autumn.

Day 216 of 365: Kicking around :)

Ok, so this is cheating on so many levels.. but nevermind (since I've already broken the purist 365 rules already... ) But, I met up with Amy (NHAmyinBoston), Heather and Angeline (who sadly had turned around!) while Amy was in town for a few days! I think she was doing one last hurrah vacation since as of May 18th, she's in the army now! We had a fun time having a drink and some convo!

Day 215 of 365: It's Willow time!

Not sure why she looks pink, but either way I love the little expression on her face here! She was so wiggly that most of the shots came out blurry. Something must have caught her attention for a second and she paused out of curiosity! Mikey, Brandy and Willow all came down for a visit while Mikey and Mandy went to the back-to-back Dave Matthews' concerts. We met up for dinner and I got to spend some time with my niece!! Oh and she's 6 months old today!!

Day 214 of 365: Bebecita!

I went to my friend Lina's baby shower this afternoon. This is a closeup of her cute, cute cake! :)
She's got 2 little boys and now is finally having a girl!

In addition to having fun at the shower for her, I got to see some former colleagues from my old, old school- Pebblebrook! I hadn't seen Carol or MaryAnn in 4 years since I'd left! No one had changed. In addition, I got to see Pilar and Lina (and their respective little boys) for the first time in 2 years! Yoiks! How did time pass so quickly??? All in all it was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon/evening.

Day 213 of 365: Tiles

This is a small selection of the tiles that line a semi circle brick wall outside behind the flag pole. They were made by students of the school I work at. I *think* they were made the year the school opened, but I'm not sure. There are quite a variety of tiles and I think it's cool to see what touches the kids and how they see the school! Notice the smiley face in the top left! At least this one doesn't look creepy! Haha!

Day 212 of 365: I've made it!

I'm an official pledge member of the Taco Mac Passport club. Basically, they give you a (free) card to keep track of all the beers you drink. At certain levels, you get rewards. I've got 29 beers now (I should have more, but couldn't find the card for about a year!) I was reading the information sheet they have at the bar Thursday night (I'd gone back to get a second Yuengling glass so I'd have a set!) and it turns out I was supposed to get a free t-shirt 16 beers ago. So here it is. Not sure where I'm going to wear it- maybe just to sleep in?? But hey! It was free! The next level (50 beers) I get a $10 Taco Mac gift card. That's infinitely more useful!

Day 211 of 365: Light through my window

This photo was kind of rushed since I was actually walking out the door to work right then. However this is the early morning sunlight streaming through my living room windows. It makes me happy to have sunshine! Oh, and the photo is not out of focus, that's just the way the blinds are reflecting on the wall. Bring on the nice weather!!

Day 210 of 365: Contracts

So it's official. I'm legally bound to return to school next year. On one hand, I'm grateful that I've not had to worry about having a job (there are many teachers losing their jobs, contrary to the popular misconception that teachers are secure). However, this officially means that my original plan of moving over to London this year is not going to happen (unless I choose to break my contract and probably burn some bridges in the process). I know that I've just got to have patience! It will all happen exactly how and WHEN it should. But I'm very impatient and am ready for it to happen YESTERDAY!

Day 209 of 365: Life is like..

... a box of Swiss chocolates! Heh. I went to my friend Marcel's house for dinner tonight and his aunt and nephew from Switzerland were visiting. She made a fantastic mushroom/cream sauce on fettuccine with salad and then fresh fruit for dessert. I had a fun time catching up with them (I'd met them last year) and of course seeing Marcel and his new house! At the end, he gave me this box of Nestle Swiss chocolates. They are dark chocolate squares and are absolutely divine!! I'm only able to eat 2 or so at a time. I'm definitely hooked, though, and quite happy I don't have to share them with anyone!!

Day 208 of 365: Cheese to the power of 100

Here's the close up of the smiley shirts we all have to wear at work during the CRCT testing. Two days down, three to go... Yellow just really isn't my color! At least I get to wear jeans everyday....

Day 207 of 365: One ringy dingy....

This is my new phone! Yea!! It has loads of cool features (including a touch screen menu on the front part of the flip that you see there) and even a 2gb mini disc in it to save photos, etc on! I'm so glad I won't have to keep deleting every text since I only have space for one on the old phone. The flip joint also broke and I could see the wires inside. I figured it'd be best to go ahead and upgrade while I could still retrieve my information on the old phone. And for about an hour, I seriously was considering getting the iphone since they had a deal going. But in the end, I made the wise decision (financially) to go for this Nokia. I'm happy. It does what I need it to. Plus I have my ipod touch that does everything else!

Day 206 of 365: Yuengling night!!

Nothing like some hockey playoffs and Yuengling on a Friday night!! And I got to use my new glass I got at Taco Mac last week. Woo! I swear it actually tastes just a little bit better out of the glass. ;)

Day 205 of 365: I see YOU!

This creepy, winking smiley seems to be saying "I see you little girl. Come get in my creepy van and have some candy!" In reality, it's on a camping style chair set in the rotunda of school to encourage the students to do their "best on the test" during CRCTs (state mandated standardized tests). In fact, there are smileys all over the school- hanging signs on each hallway, stuffed smileys and smiley rugs in the hall ways, and best of all- every teacher and staff member is wearing yellow shirts with smileys and "Do your best on the test" in huge letters on the front. Yippee!

Day 204 of 365: Don't fear the Taxman

I e-filed my taxes this year at the last minute (even paid the $20 for State e-filing. Grf.) I got my metered stamps showing I'm mailing the payment as of 4/15/09. I love sending more money to the government.

Day 203 of 365: Punchbug red!

I recently revived this old game with a friend who had never played before. There had been two Beetles one behind the other, but one turned off right before I could take the photo! They are cute little cars.

Day 202 of 365: Back to reality

Great way to start a Monday morning back to work after essentially 2 weeks off. Bleh.

Day 201 of 365: Spring (salad)

Reason number 1 that I LOVE springtime!!!! Fresh salads every day!!!!! If you're curious: spring mix, chopped artichoke hearts (in water), carrots, sliced red pear, sun dried tomatoes in oil, squeeze of lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of goat cheese on top!

I'm baaaaaack!

Hey folks! I've been soooo soo busy the past weeks that the blog just had to get put aside for a bit. I've taken some photos which I will upload here tomorrow as a sort of catch up in one post so you can at least see I hadn't totally forgotten. I just don' t have photos for each day, so I'm not going to bother to try to catch up for all the missed days. I'm just continuing from here! It's my 365 so I guess I can bend the rules when necessary! :)

3/17/09: Sunrise out back porch.


3/20/09: First day of Spring celebration- free Italian ice at Rita's!! (I had raspberry and mango- yummo!)


3/21/09: Kittye and her daughter Katie! Fun girls night out at Taco Mac. Go Wildcats!!!


3/28/09: Bib number for Georgia ING Half Marathon the next morning! My obsessive need to be prepared for races the night before.


3/29/09: Finisher's medal from the race. The little city scape that says "finishers" spins all the way around, too! Fun!


3/31/09: Went to the Georgia Aquarium. It claims to be the world's largest aquarium and opened in 2005. This was my first time going. Nothing like out of town visitors to get you to see your own city!


4/1/09: Blooming tree (I think it's a cherry tree) outside the High Museum in Atlanta. Went to see the Chinese Terracotta Army exhibit. It was fantastic, as was the beautiful spring weather!!


4/5/09: Giant guitar hanging outside Sun Studio in Memphis! Well worth a visit!! I loved being inside the studio where Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, U2, and even Elvis recorded!! You could just feel the music oozing from the walls. If they could talk....

4/6/09: Blue Plate Cafe where we had breakfast both mornings in Memphis. Southern diner feel, but really good, high quality food!!


4/7/09: Chattanooga Choo Choo! It really exists! :)


4/10/09: Watch out Toto!! We had major thunderstorms and tornadoes in Georgia just 3 days after there was snow. Must be springtime in Georgia....