I'm thankful for...

The rain...
Breakfast for dinner...
Mom's homemade peach preserves...
My favorite gray yoga pants...

...and my cozy house, on my quiet street, that I can snuggle down in on those rainy days when I have breakfast for dinner in my favorite yoga pants!

Ducks and Football...

Whew! What a weekend so far! Warning: This could shape up as quite a lengthy post, so hang in there with me!

Update: for those of you who prayed for me and my germ, thank you! Here has been the progression of my thoughts: Friday... scratchy throat and sniffiles, darn those kids. Saturday... Oh **** I feel like I am swallowing razor blades, great. Sunday... YAY, I feel better, but I have absolutely, positively NO voice and I sneeze approximately every five minutes. :-) Somehow I have twisted all of this in my head to be a good thing because I have convinced myself that since my symptoms change each day that what I now affectionately call, "my germ" is just "running it's course" (I hope the course is short, cause I am ready to have my voice back!)

Saturday was a big day for me and lots of my friends! I began my day quacking! Okay, not really but I did see a lot of quackers! La and I showed up bright and early Saturday morning to help fellow Junior League members and volunteers set up for the annual Duck Derby that benefits the Child Advocacy Center! We worked the morning shift setting up and, as always, had a good time! I think I laughed the entire time I was there from the second La picked me up, until she dropped me off! It really doesn't matter what the two of us do together, we always have a fun time of it and this was no different! The good thing is while we are laughing it up and having a good time we are helping the community and children of Rutherford County and quite frankly, that feels good!

Here is, perhaps, the largest inflatable duck known to mankind! It was on the road to show people exactly where the derby began (too bad they didn't get it up sooner, right La?).

Here are me and our friend Susan! She is in Junior League as well and La and I were so glad that she was on the morning shift too - the three of us had a great time together setting up!

Here is La pulling an Ella Grace with her Starbucks in the car waiting for everyone to get to the site so we could begin setting up for the derby! Too bad it was the wrong site... they failed to inform us that the morning folks were to be on the OTHER side of bridge... but we ended up in the right spot and everything turned out okay!

This picture makes me laugh out loud - La never fails to pose for a funny picture! We had to sort shirts and such at the Sportsman's club by the river... the place had 3 HUGE stuffed bears, a stuffed wolf, and various other animals and foul - nice! It was a little on the creepy side, but we coped with some humor - clearly!

Side Note: If you notice, the third of the three amigos is no where to be seen... No worries! I am SOOOOOOO proud of our sweet Megan! She wasn't at the Duck Derby, but she was bettering the community as well! Moo was at the Habitat for Humanity conference and she actually facilitated a session on Volunteer Coordination!!!! I know she did an awesome job - I am so proud of you Moo!

After our busy morning we all cleaned up and got ready for the second phase of our action packed Saturday! The moment that all of us had been counting down to... THE 2008 FANTASY FOOTBALL CO-ED LEAGUE DRAFT!!!!!

That's right folks, it's football time - and that is exciting enough in and of itself, but add some fantasy drafts, a little change on the line, and a big 'ole group of friends and you have got yourself a seriously exciting situation!!!!

Here are me and my best girls at the Draft! We had so much fun! We met at Coach's to do our live draft and had THE BEST TIME! We have 12 teams in our league this year and it's big time exciting stuff!

I had some pretty disappointing draft positions (12th the first round, 11th the third round, and 9th the fifth round) but I still think I did okay... what do you think:

Starting lineup: Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Tory Holt, Reggie Bush, Brandon Jacobs, Jeremy Shockey, Nate Keading, and the Bears Defense!

Backups: Marc Bulger, Donte Stallworth, Desean Jackson, Jerious Norwood, Ahman Green, Todd Heap, David Akers, Chris Perry, and the 49rs Defense!

Here are some of our fellow League members, Chris, Scott, and Dennis' friend David.

And here is as much of the whole crew as I could manage to get in one picture!

Stay tuned for sure... I am confident there will be updates from La, Moo, and myself and maybe even some smack talk too!! Wish me luck, the regular seasons just a week away!

I have to close with a warning from my sister. Something came up on her computer about "anti-virus xp 2008" like her virus protection had expired and she needed to renew. It looked very legitimate. Unfortunately it was not, it was spy ware! She had to cancel her credit card and now can't use her computer at all until someone gets it off which apparently will be costly and time consuming. She wanted me to pass the word along since she can't get online to send out a blog post or email herself about it! According to Geek Squad this one is big and going around A LOT here lately! Be on the lookout!

Blogging Germs???

I think I caught Lindsay's funk! Is it possible to catch something from miles and miles and states and states away through the blogging circuit??? I read about Lindsay's trip to the clinic and the next thing I know I am waking up this morning with a scratchy throat and a sniffly nose! ha!

Okay, so I know I really didn't catch it through cyberspace... more likely? A little runny nosed kiddie in my classroom (there are only about 130 of them)! :-) Apparently hand sanitiser and Clorox wipes only go so far! It would seem "the funk" is going around! Last weekend, of course, you remember the stomach funk incident. And now, just in time for the weekend again, the sniffles! Ah, the life of a teacher! Gotta love it! It seems to go in cycles, like every other year I catch a lot of stuff and then in-between years I go germ free! Odd.

Okay seriously though, this has been the busiest week! With several outings, a cheer clinic, cheer tryouts, a new student teacher, and the regular hoopla at school it's no wonder I've been knocked on my behind by a germ or two! Unfortunately I have a busy busy weekend ahead too! So... all that said, and this may be a little selfish with all the great big needs and requests out there... but I would seriously appreciate you blogging beauties lifting up a little word of prayer that with some rest tonight and some Vitamin C I will be feeling better in the AM!

Tune in tomorrow for an update for sure! As you know football season is upon us and tomorrow, Ladies and Gentlemen, is my first Fantasy Football draft of the season and I could not be more excited! Not even this little bug I have come down with can get me down - I have been waiting and waiting for the day to arrive and tomorrow's it!! I'll be so excited tomorrow night to share with you who I ended up getting at the draft and I'll share more details then! Yay!

Well, as it is Friday evening and I am a little on the un-well side, I think I am going to grab some juice, a box of Kleenex, and head to the couch for some much needed rest!

Six Degrees of Randomness

Hey! I have been tagged by Lindsay to share six random things about myself...

1. I LOVE to organize things and information. One of my favorite things to do is to create forms, letters, etc. This is really convenient in the teaching profession!

2. I like to drive in bare feet! Unless my shoes are zipped up to my knee (you know, fall and winter super-cute fun and sexy boots) then you can bet I am driving in my bare feet!

3. I can't stand to listen to people chew. I am not just talking about smacking or chewing with your mouth open - although that is the most offensive. It also REALLY bothers me when someone in the room is munching on something and it's really quiet and I can hear them chewing!

4. It drives me crazy when someone wants to ask me a question, but instead of just asking they launch into a huge, long, detailed story. This is ironic, however, because I am bad about doing this! I am a details person, but if I am working - out with it! Just ask or tell and be done, I don't need the background!

5. I am not a big fan of underwear! lol. (Might cross in to the too much information category here, but I figure most of you already know and it is a pretty random thing!) I sleep in it (and like it to match my top) and there are obviously times and situations that require it, but in general I would rather go without! No muss, no fuss, no lines!! Bra's on the other hand I won't go without... I take it off at the last second at night and it's the fist thing I put on the morning! (I wonder if this is indicative of some strange personality quirk?)

6. I don't like washing my hands in public restrooms. It bothers me (this probably has A LOT to do with being a teacher and knowing the inventive things kids can do with soap dispensers, sinks, etc). Needless to say, I use A LOT of hand sanitizer!

Well, there you go... that's about as random as it can get!

NOW, I would like to tag:
Lauren
Megan
Leigh Ann
Kelly
Betsy
Sarah

The Rules
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules to your blog
3. Write 6 random things about myself
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5. Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is posted.

I won!

I have now titled a picture for a blogging beauty! Check out Lindsay's blog to see the photo. Ironically the photo is of... wait for it... a bumblebee! That's right! And the title, "Non-Flight of the Bumblebee." Original, huh? Seriously, given my recent experience, it was meant to be! lol.

Now, onto my weekend recap... I'll keep it short and sweet, I didn't take any pictures this weekend (so far, lol).

Friday: Work - yay I survived the first week! Home for a power nap - I was feeling a little drained, like I might be fighting off a bug. To Beth's to join some fellow teachers to unwind and celebrate Paige's birthday. Very fun, very relaxing!

Saturday: Hop out of bed, immediately get back in bed... realize I don't feel 100% but convince myself to power through, it's just your imagination. Get up the second time and start the morning routine - gotta be ready to go to Rachel's Southern Living Home party with Moo and La - so excited. Shower, do hair, drink some pineapple juice and promptly see it again... literally... back up, still cold. Nice. This is classic, really, considering it's the first week of school. My sweet-precious students tend to share everything - especially their germs! Apparently I should have used the Germ-X more than the 5,427 times that I am sure I used it this week! Cancel party, cancel everything, back to bed for me... I don't do sick.

Sunday: A new woman. I slept A LOT yesterday and after stomach funk all day (less and less as the day went on, I think the sleep and my body really fought it off) I am feeling much better today!! I finally ate last night and I have a lot more energy today and really feel like I wasn't even ever sick - odd, but I'm not complaining!

2 + 2 = 4

Well, in the case of my classroom it's more like "Latitude Flatitude!" This week it's back to the grind! I actually worked all of last week, but it was just in-service days except for Friday and even then the students only came for two hours.

Maybe I should back it up a bit! I had a great weekend for my last big bang before getting back into full swing with students and all! Friday night was "Poker Night" which usually happens about once a month at my friend Rob's house. I am frequently the only female player, but I enjoy going and trying to work my magic and my cards to my benefit! Ha! This time, no such luck... I lost two games in a row (we play tournament style Texas Hold 'Em). But at $5 a pop, there was not much lost!

Saturday was a great day too! I got up bright and early and went to work like a mad woman on my house! I cleaned and cleaned - whew! Saturday afternoon I made all kinds of yummies including hot ham and cheese rolls, bacon-wrapped little smokies, and Kelly's AMAZING spinach dip (see her recipe blog linked to the right for the recipe)! Moo brought yum-yum dip and it was... YUM.. YUM! Saturday night I had some of my favorite friends over for a little munching, a little pre-season Titan's game, a lot of laughing and a few games! We had a blast!

Sunday was low key saving energy up for Monday, the (unofficial) first day of school. I did manage to sneak out to meet Rondda and Kristah at Olive Garden, but didn't manage a picture.

Now, that brings us back to "Latitude Flatitude" (aka "latitude lines run east to west and are measured north and south of the equator")! Do I sound like I am back in teacher mode yet? This is where I will spend copious amounts of time for the next several months:

This is the view of my room from my desk...

... and this is the view of my room from my doorway!

I like my classroom, it is pretty roomy, I am on the first floor again this year, which I like, and the benefit of an old school building (which is my favorite part) I have a wall of windows looking out onto historic Main Street! I'm just sayin' if you have to be inside all day, you can't beat the view I have from my "office" Ha!

Now, for those interested... there are ONLY 178 days of school left until summer break! LOL!!!! Teachers are wore than the kids! Don't be fooled, I do actually enjoy it very much!

That's about it for tonight! I will post one more picture. I decided I would get smart and try to design my own blog header. I googled something like "create your own blog header" and wound my way through links and landed on scrapblog.com. Where I made this fabulous creation that is SO me!

Problem is... I think that website really is just like an online scrapbook... I have no way to actually make it my blog header. It's looks really neat though, huh?

UPDATE: Obviously I am working on setting this as my header... also Obvious is that fact that IT IS HUGE! If you have any tips, please feel free to share! :-)

UPDATE 2: Okay no longer HUGE but not just right either. Tell ya what... I am going to keep working on it and stop with the updates. Eventually I am sure I'll land on the right combo! :-)

A tribute to my friends...

I discovered Smilebox - how fun! So I put a little walk down memory lane together for a few of my nearest and dearests!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Images

When I received my camera cord back (Thank you so much Mom for going to the trouble to mail it to me!!! Sorry I left it in your stuff!) I had to load a bunch of pictures onto the computer and I just thought I would share some of them. They are random, at best. Just some snapshots of my days over the past couple of weeks!



Me and Moo at Camino one day! I met her, Web, and Chris there for some yummy Mexican food and good company! I think I was the only one without a to do list that day... Moo came from work and... are you ready for this? Chris and Web went to Gymboree to use Moo's GymBucks for Vance... promptly followed by a trip to Dicks to reinstate the manliness! :-)

I took this the day Moo, Web, Me, La, and David had Sir Pizza at Moo and Web's and then went to see their new house framed up! We thought it was SO FUNNY when Vance climbed in Dawson's bouncy seat. It was a like a little-man Lazy Boy recliner! He plopped right down in it, cocked his little leg up to the side and started watching the tube! Priceless - and all boy for sure!

This is Susan, Amanda, Allie, and Rachel at 1987 Prom Themed Bunko! They did such a great job with the theme from costume to decorations to good food and even some 80's trivia! It was a lot of fun!!!

This is Me, La, and Moo on our all day girlz day! We are posing here with our "For the Love of Evan" shirts that arrived! We will wear these shirts on August 13 when we volunteer and participate in "Walk Now for Autism." It's not too late to walk or donate and we are SO close to our goal! Click here for more information! We also have on our shoulders the cutie-cute monogrammed towels that our precious Leigh Ann sent to us! Leigh Ann is Evan's mom and is coming to the walk in September along with her hubby Derek! We are so excited to meet her in person, but we already consider her a dear friend!!!!

Well, that's it for today. Just a few pictures and some "snapshots" of my days prior my "back to work" week that I have had! I hope each and every one of you are having a blessed week!

Note...

Please note the new link to the left, "My Lens On Life." Me and my sister both recently purchased the Nikon D40 and are both taking a very casual, work at your own pace, and best yet, FREE, photography class online. :-) So I set up a blog just for that so that I can post my assignments and just keep a record of my photographic journey. Please feel free to check it out.

My First Assignment...

I am taking an online photo class, as is my sister. There are lessons you read and then assignments you complete. The first lesson was on composition and impact. There were two assignments... first to take an abstract photo in which the subject is unrecognizable. The other was to take pictures from various viewpoints. I have a couple examples of each. Bear in mind I have been back to work (summer's over... teacher's across America are crying! lol) so I have only had time in the evening and only at home... it was kind of hard to find an interesting subject that I was satisfied with. I played with the color to make them a little more pleasing... to my eye anyway.

So, here is assignment one. I am posting two abstracts and although I am quite sure you can tell what the subject is, I thought they were visually stimulating.

This is my favorite. I used the technique of getting very close to the subject and I tried to use the rule of thirds with the focal point being in the right third and the repeating patter on the wood grain drawing your eye to the left... however, I think I should have the knot in the wood a little higher or a little lower on the photograph to comply with the "golden mean." The wood grain pattern makes me think of water ripples after something disturbs the surface.

This is the other abstract. It has a repeating pattern. I didn't like it as well as the first.

Assignment Two: Looking from different points of view.

This is not my favorite, but I thought worth posting. I just thought it was a neat angle.

This is my favorite. Changing it to a sepia tone made all the difference in the world. Another fun angle.

The last four are of a glass of wine. I just thought I would post two of the angles I tried (out of the many that failed, lol) and also show the difference that color settings make! Of these four, the last one is my favorite.

So, what do you think?

Feeling Beachy... Part II

Ten things you must do when visiting Tybee Island (in no particular order)!

ONE:

You must walk to the Pier for fresh grilled hot dog or hamburger and chase it with a hand-dipped waffle cone!!! Yummy! A favorite tradition of mine!

TWO:

You must walk to the end of the pier which goes WAY out into the water and look into the ocean, smell the salty breeze, and see if all the people fishing are catching anything! (If you are freaked out by things swimming in the ocean with you, you might want to put this activity off until your last day!) ;-)

THREE:

No picture here, but you absolutely must go to the tacky beachy shops that are right there a off the beach. What's a vacation without cheap-O touristy shops with funky souvenirs and over sized shells of unnatural colors! :-)

FOUR:

You must visit the Tybee Island Lighthouse! There is a little, charming lighthouse on the way to Tybee called the Cockspur lighthouse, but that is not the official Tybee Island lighthouse. The one you see above is the real deal and it's a short bike ride from anywhere on the island (as the island is only 5 miles long at it's longest points!)

FIVE:

You have to spend LOTS of time sitting on the beach and sitting on the balcony enjoying cold tropical beverages and reading great summer reads! That is what the beach is all about to me... sitting and laying around, resting your eyelids or reading while you listen to the waves - is there anything better than that?

SIX:

You have to GET IN! Okay, so I somehow escaped photographs of me IN the water, other than this one, which doesn't really show what I mean. When I go to the beach I have to get in... I mean really in... hair wet, tossed around by the waves, scrape your knees on the sand, kind of in! :-) I will always be a water-bug at heart and I still LOVE to play in the waves!!!

SEVEN:

Eat LOTS and LOTS of seafood! Especially those WONDERFUL Georgia Wild Shrimp! I especially recommend A-J's Dockside Restaurant on the back side of the island. They have GREAT seafood and ALL of their seating is outside on the docks! It's fabulous and although I didn't see dolphins while eating dinner, I hear it's a common sight and that doesn't surprise me because I always see dolphins when I visit Tybee!

EIGHT:

Have fun and be super silly! When you're at the beach, you just gotta a let go! There's no better place to let it all go and be silly than the Crab Shack! It's another GREAT seafood place on the water outside! They have lots of alligators that you can feed (from a distance), lots of silly things to do while you wait, and the best low country boil you can find!!!

NINE:

Take or rent a bike. Don't laugh, I know this sounds totally CrAzY coming from me and it's not anything I ever would have dreamed up or even considered on my own, but I gave into peer pressure and agreed to get on a bike for this first time since I was probably twelve or younger! I was a little rusty at the balance thing and the foot break thing, but once I got to peddling it was... well... like riding a bike! :-) Our bikes had baskets on the front and we had SO MUCH FUN!!!! We rented them one night and road on the beach down to the pier and back. The next day we rode (in the rain in the AM) to the lighthouse, had lunch, and then biked around the whole island on the back streets to see the marshes and beach houses and enjoy the day. I will never go to Tybee again without renting a bike for at least a day to peddle around the Island - it was great fun and cheap too!

TEN:

Go to Savannah! Although I didn't actually go this trip because we were only there for a few days, I would recommend it to anyone headed that direction... especially those of you who have never been to Savannah! It's a beautiful city with some great shops, beautiful squares and gardens, fun tours, and wonderful restaurants!

So there you have it! Have I made you want to go to Tybee yet? I promise I don't work for the Department of Tourism in Georgia... the place truly is just that neat! So... now I am curious... have any of you ever been? If so, do you share some of my sentiments? Have you done some of my top ten things?

Out with the old...

Okay, so not really out with the old. I can't bear to part with the old (my N60)... you know, one of those cameras that still actually takes film? I saved up to by it "a few" years ago when I was, ahem, a Junior at good 'ole Ooltewah High School! I have loved that camera through the years and it has served me well. It is a very nice camera and still a lot of fun to play with. It's always good to look back before you move forward... so before I begin posting pictures taken with my brand new, fabulous D40 (yay for the convenience of digital with all the bells and whistles of my N60) I thought I would show you just a couple (because that is all I could find already uploaded) pictures taken for fun with my N60.

This was of a Church in Mississippi... I just love the white church with the blue sky!

This was taken in my Mom's garden. I just like the angle and the way it turned out!

My New Blog...

...My Lens on Life.

With the purchase of a new camera, a long loving relationship with photography, and a renewed thirst for knowledge and something new, I am starting a blog devoted to the view of things from my camera's lens. I am going to be learning new things, trying new shots and experimenting from all angles and you can see it all right here. This blog is, for the most part, just a way for me to document and keep track with the new things I learn and shots that I try. However, I welcome friends, family and guests who are interested in seeing how things look for my side of the camera to have a look and visit often!

Feeling Beachy... Part I

I thought I would share some of my pictures from the beach with you today, because quite frankly, and to quote a shirt of Bentlee's, "I'm Feeling Beachy!"


As stated in previous posts, Tybee Island, GA is perhaps my favorite place on earth other than my home here and my childhood home. For one, it holds many memories from childhood vacations. It also, however, is just a little slice of heaven if you like low key, laid back, Atlantic coast line! Mmmmm. The Island is small, not very commercial, sports only one traffic light on the "main drag" (if you can even call it that), has a *tiny* IGA market, one fast food place, a couple local seafood joints, a sprinkling of hotels and a couple small condo buildings and lots of little beach homes. It is just what I envision as a classic, quaint beach town.


Here is the view from the balcony of our condo. This is in the middle of the day in the middle of July... so few people! That is what I love about Tybee! Compared to so many other crowded beaches, this is about as close as you can get to having it all to yourself!



I was impressed with my little camera for this shot! While we were there, we enjoyed a full moon over the ocean! I had hoped for some sunrise pictures, but never made it up for that... this great picture of the moon reflecting in the ocean made up for it!

Here is a picture of my beautiful Mom! I love the color of the sky in this picture - so bright in shades of teal and blue and almost purple! This particular evening the girls we were with wanted to load up and head to Savannah for dinner and some shopping. Mom and I were in much more of a low key, chill mode and have both "done" Savannah several times. So instead we opted to stay on Tybee... we enjoyed some time reading and talking on the balcony, headed down to the beach front restaurant attached to our condo for some killer crab quesadillas and then walked down to the beach for a couple of pictures! It was a relaxing evening and wonderful just to be in each other's company!

And last, but not least, a picture of Me and Mom at the Crab Shack. We had THE BEST food while we were gone! Every meal was "my favorite." I think I ate my weights worth in crab and shrimp and threw in some scallops and fish on the side! :-) By the time we headed home I think we were all ready for Mexican, Pizza, or Steak... anything but seafood! lol.

Stay tuned for "Feeling Beachy... Part II" where I'll fill you in on my top ten must do's when visiting Tybee Island!

Hot spot... Hot city!

There are many advantages to living in the 'boro! I won't go into all the reasons I love calling Murfreesboro home, but I will list one perk... living so near Nashville! We are just a hop, skip, and a jump from the great NashVegas and the wonderful nightlife that can be found there. Not to mention all the things to do during they day that I take advantage of often... Titan's games, The Frist Center for the Arts, and all the fun restaurants, shopping, and stops of interest. Honestly, every time I go to Nashville, I wonder to myself why I don't make that short drive more often! SO, when Jerri called Thursday night wanting to do something and suggesting Nashville, I decided I would accompany her! Doug, his friend Morris, myself and Jerri headed to Broadway for barbecue on the roof at Rippy's and then across the street!

The original plan was to meet some friends at Tootsie's, but by the time we finished dinner, they had moved to Big Bang - a piano bar - so we just met them there to enjoy some good tunes and an ice cold brew! Here is a picture inside Big Bang:

And here is a picture of me and Jerri at dinner! We always have so much fun together!!!

All in all it was a great way to spend a hot summer night! By the time we got home around midnight (pretty late for an old school teacher, huh? Ha!) I was worn out! :-) It was a great time though. I had never been to Big Bang before, so I wasn't disappointed to head there instead of Tootsie's! Plus they are no smoking and you could actually carry on a conversation. So for you local folks, or those passing through, if you want a "true" taste of Nashville, you need to hit Tootsie's of course... but if you want a low key, smoke-free night with some tunes you'll know and love, head across the street and down a block to Big Bang! :-)

Now, have you noticed anything different about this post? Here's a hint...

That's right kids, my camera cord has arrived!!! Stay tuned for more beach pictures and "catch-up" on some other images and events!!!

Side note: I ordered a Serta 2.5 in. think memory-foam topper for my big 'ole king size mattress and it finally arrived! (STEAL of a deal on Overstock.com - my favorite!!!!) So, last night I basically slept on a cloud... seriously! Best night's sleep I think I have ever had! If you are even ever slightly question your mattress and whether or not it could be improved, I highly encourage you to hook yourself up with some genuine memory foam! It's heaven, on a bed! :-)