What's new.

O.k. Here's what's new...
We got a puppy. (Cute, but she's a puppy.)
I've taken up trying to jog. (Brutal.)
I'm back to work.
My mom thinks that my youngest daughter lives in Florida. (We're in Georgia.)
I want to find an apartment. (Looooooooooooooooong story.)
My hair is about an inch long.
I have a new friend.

So, there it is. Hopefully, I'll find some time in my life when I can expound on all of these mysterious sounding circumstances.
But, for now, I'm going to try some jogging with our puppy.

Internet?

Hey! I spent the summer ignoring my internet and it actually felt quite good! So, now comes the challenge of trying to get back in the swing...
Wait... I think I need more coffee...

At the end of the day...

Some sunset pictures taken from behind our campsite.

Crooked River

While we were in North Georgia (Talullah Falls), we picked up a book called The Best Tent Camping in Georgia. It occured to me while on our recent venture to Kingland, that not everyone's idea of a great camp spot will coinside. We spent fout nights at a beautiful little state park called Crooked River. It had nice fishing and picnicking places, very helpful folks at the office, some nice piney woods hiking with lots of birds and critters around. It was very clean and the campground was flat and easy to see around. Some spots were better than others, ofcourse. But we found this great site under lots of long leaf pines with lots of space to run around behind the tent. It backed up to the Crooked River and the sunset right over the river and the marsh. Really clean bathroom, too...

I tend to wake up earlier than the rest of the family, so I was up at 6-6:30 everyday. Songbirds just going to town. I'd get up, make some coffee, grab my book, watch the sun come up and relax. Once the sun got high enough to be considered "day", the crows came out. Nature's alarm clock. My spouse wished more than once for a bb gun. These crows like to start their day with a game of tag in the trees and they seemed to take a particular shine to us. So I never had to be the bad guy waking everyone up! We saw racoon, fox, a bunny, armadillo (lumbered right through our camp!), and a 6' gopher snake. One night something tried to burrow under the tent. The box spouse was using as a side table started bouncing around. He woke and gave the box a swift bonkbonk and whatever it was ran off. Just not cool to upset a sleeping man's side table...
We really like this park. We'll be back...

Cumberland

We returned last night from a trip to southeat GA. The girls were glad to be back after being gone for a week. While Bruce was working in Alabama last year, he signed up for a program with the hotel he was using and he ended up with enough points to stay for 1 night in Savannah or 3 nights in Kingsland. We hied us hence to Kingsland! It is just in land from St. Marys. Cute place and the launch for Cumberland Island. I've heard so much about Cumberland and was quite excited to see it. Honestly, it's a lot of walking. However, if this doesn't deter you, you really must see this place. To get a concise history of the island, go here: http://www.ameliamaritime.com/tour/cumberland2.html
We left as early as we could. At the first stop are the Carnegie houses. Thomas Carnegie (younger brother of Andrew) and Lucy (Thomas' wife) raised their family on this little island. It seemed so bizarre to me to picutre the island with almost no live oaks, but the plantation owners had just about cleared the island for crops at one time. It was also amazing to think that the ladies who lived on the island wore all those clothes. It was HOT!
Around lunch, we caught the second ferry to the second dock for our visit to the beach. The second dock is at the narrowest part of the island-only 1/2 mile to the beach. It is also where you can camp, which we plan to do one day...
The walk between the dock and the beach is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. Rather like walking through a fairy tale with all the wonder and just enough menace if you let your self think about it. The dunes are very wide and high. What dunes on this coast should look like were it not for all the development. The beach was astonishingly wide and shallow. We got there at low tide so it seemed even more so. Bruce and I had a blast throwing the baseball and he and the girls ahad a great time in the water. I neglected to wear my bathing suit. THAT won't happen again.
We made it back to the dock early to catch the boat back to St. Marys. On our way back a buttfly/fairy led us along the path all the way to the dock. It was a bit strange. Because it was low tide, the river side of the island water was low and there were thousands of small fiddler crabs on the banks. Ysabel figures she could herd them around and began to use then to chase Molly. Hysterical!
When we got back to St. Marys, we were starving, so we stopped at a quaint (I hate that word but it WAS!) hotel restaurant and I had the best shrimp and grits! They tossed in some spicy andouille sausage, too. YUMMO!
We got back to the hotel for a swim and serious sleep.
I can't really describe what Cumberland did to my senses. All fairytale and all history and all nature and how does one make all of this combine.

Heeeeeeeeeeere's SUMMER!

Well, we've been to the pool for the first time. That can only mean that summer is officially here. Holy heck! And the temperatures are soaring... Ten til 8 a.m. and it's 78 degrees with a high today between 95 and 100. Kristen and I sat under the umbrella almost the whole time we were at the pool and I still got sun. Molly and Bells got a bit crispy depite strong sunscreen appilcations. As I'm writing this, I'm thinking I'll change my alloted computer time to the afternoon so I can get out before the heat becomes unbearable.

I've read 3 and 1/2 books since school got out. In the kids lit, I finished The Titan's Curse and The Calder Game. I had to read The Titan's Curse because the next book in the series had come out and I am in the middle of that (The Battle of the Labyrinth) now, hence the 1/2. All good stuff. Actually, I was so excited about The Calder Game that I read it in two days. It's been a minute since Ms. Balliett put out The Wright Three. She is so much fun, because of the puzzles and art information and pretty darn good mystery and adventure she adds to her stories. These books are great for kids 4th-8th grade boys and girls. The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth are part of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Great series for boys, due the high adventure. In truth, my girls love them, too. And they are quite a lot of fun to read aloud. Another thing I like about them is that you get introductions to all the gods and monsters of Mount Olympus. (In an earlier post, I mentioned that we had gone to see him at a book signing and couldn't get near him. Well, we went back to that bookstore and they happened to have an autographed copy of his newest book. Niiiiiiiice.)
The other book I read was Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (sp?). When I mentioned to Rosa I was reading one of her books, she got mildly excited and said what a good author she was. Hmmmmmm. The book is about a boy what goes on a shooting spree in his high school, why, and what happened after, I had a real problem with mostly two dimensional characters in the first half of the book. The second half is devoted to the trial and was easier for me to get into. I must say, it's brought bullying to the front of my head.

O.k. Enough of my soap box. It's Saturday and that means cleaning! Woot! Rosa is dog sitting for friends and they just got a Wii!!! So, Molly and Ysabel are going to go play this afternoon. Had to let 'em or I'd have to sleep with my door locked. So, I get the afternoon to myself!

I'm out! Hope you have an awesome weekend! Take a look around... It IS awesome...

I found these directions on a bag of ICE! What does this say about consumers these days?

New 'Do!

Well everyone has their summer 'do now. Bella got this one. I actually like it on her quite a lot. People look at my kids and , well, I don't know what they think. Then they talk to them and seem to be amazed at what they can discuss intelligently. Like you shouldn't be this smart unless you come from an Ivy League background.
I know some folks seem to really relax behind the status quo. And there are times when I can really get behind that. I really resist big change. We have been talking about moving to about an hour from where we are now (better schools) but I REALLY do not want to. I have lots of good reasons to stay. There's the drive time to work (40 min. jumps to 2-3 hours, daily), not to mention gas. I really love being close to The Park. Where we are now is only 20 minutes from downtown. All of my friends are here. And I do not make friends easily. Rats...
But, when Rosa was in high school we dyed her hair Napalm Orange. I was SO excited and when we were done, it looked so good. Beautiful with her green eyes.
Once a person has to get out in the job force, once schooling is done and you have get approval and acceptance from someone for their livelihood, coloring your hair Napalm Orange or getting a mohawk are not really options. As humans we do judge each other by how you dress, wear your hair, etc... Human nature, but what a shame.

Memorial Day feast

Tuesday morning. I'm up and getting ready for work.

In the end for our Memorial Day cookout, we stayed at home and invited my mom-in -law and our friend Len over. And Hot Damn if we didn't feast. Rosa fixed her own creation for devilled eggs and they were SO good. Molly fixed the dressing for the slaw and even Bruce liked it! Ysabel fixed the salad and the banana pudding. It was so good! I fixed the grilled chicken and the bbq'd ribs and the potato salad. We all ate like we were starved!

I love to cook for my family, but I espcially love to cook for others. It's such a blessing to have family and friends around the table, laughing and talking and eating.

I hope YOU had a wonderful weekend, as well.

I love Saturdays!

Well, I got up and went to Michele's this morning. I was astounded to see how many folks had already been there!
I am inspired today to clean my bathrooms. Now I have bleach in my nose and I'm rather enjoying it. And while I'm cleaning, I pretend I'm the Little Princess (Burnett) or Laura Ingalls Wilder. (O.k. to laugh. This is actually advice I give my kids.) Unless I have on music or NPR. There's something very satisfying about cleaning down to the corners. This does not happen often, I assure you...
And Bella is quite put out that she is the only one home to help. (grumpgrump) "This is not mine." "Where does this go?" "My stomach hurts." "I'm tired." "Let me tell you about my Webkinz." (Or the horse I found Byer Horses. Or look at thrick I taught my Nintendog.)
Molly is away. She spent the night with Lydia for Lyd's b-day. At the Omni Hotel downtown. With a pool. And they went to see "Prince Caspian". And they are going to the aquarium today. Rosa is out today with one of her friends. A rare occasion. But away playing. Bruce is sleeping after coming in at 7ish. And we are home... Therein lies the rub for Bella.
However, she and I get to make the plans for our picnic on Monday without interference. We will plan it all and everyone else will have to deal. Nyah! Good heavens, I sound contrary. Must be the bleach.
Mmmmmmm... And I have to get my mom today. Wonder what color the sky is in her world today.

The Last Day

YES! Today is the last day of school for our school system! MY last day is June 4 and I'm liberated until the end of July. I love being a 10 month employee! I have masses of work to finish before I go and my office to re-organize. But then I'm FREE! Free to get mom's medicare fixed up Free to take over homeschooling Bella and start with Molly. Free to clean into the corners of my house. And back yard. And garage. And go to the pool! And see Kristen! And Susan! And Camp! WOOT! I love summer break!
Sorry if you feel I'm rubbing this in your face but I am truly excited!
Zoinks! 6:00 am! Gotta go get dressed!

Playing catch up...

Well, I took the day off on Wednesday to take Rosa and Ysabel to the END OF THE YEAR EVENT for Georgia Virtual Academy. It was held at Lake Lanier. I hadn't been there for 25 years... I didn't see much to reccommend it. Especially with the drought. The event was nice. I got to meet Bella's teacher, with whom I will be working as we finish up her school this summer. (Started late, y'know.) She got into playing volleyball and dodgeball with some other kids. Weather was overcast but fine. I really wanted to find some parents in our area to connect with. People are so reticent. I mentioned this while we were talking with Mrs. Peters (the teacher). She said a lot of the parents in our area left public school due to religious reasons. Perhaps that's why they avoid us. Rather liberal on the lifestyle side of things, you see.
I got out of the house this morning at about 7:45 to walk and take pictures at Stone Mountain. Kristen took my kids for the night last night. God Bless her. I know I post a lot of pictures on my blog. I just haven't had time to start another for just pictures. Heck! There are hardly enough hours to do this one! When I loaded them after I got home, I thought, "Yeah. This is what it felt like." It was about 55 degrees when I got out there. REALLY lovely. My mp3 player froze up and would not play, which turned out to be a blessing. We got to Stone Mountain Park so often that I forget how much good hiking is there and how really beautiful it is. If only the camping weren't so blasted expensive ($50.00/night! Zoinks!)

I think I got some pretty nice shots. I was surprised to find trees where the deer had been eating the bark. I got a couple of close reflections of trees in the water that look like they've been Photoshopped (sp?).. You could think that you're up in North GA. except that you can hear the cars on the road thru the park occasionally and people laughing now and again.

I hiked for about 2 1/2 hours. Then my stomach reminded me that I'd had 2 slices of bread for breakfast. Aha. And I had not brought water. Again. And my chores were nagging at my brain. Ah. The burden of being a responsible person. "Alright! I'm coming!!!", she hollers to the dishes...
TTFN!

sheepish...

Turns out, it's all about the pms...

Aha. Aha ha ha... (Pass the Midol, please...)

Crazy...

Holy Heck on a Stick! 8 more daze of school left and I'm barely keeping my head above water. I would dearly love to disappear right in to Yellowstone Park RIGHT NOW! I always forget what a hectic time of year this is. BLARG! O.k. Thanks for listening. I had a very productive piss and moan session with Kristen and Rosa today and I got most of the pus out. But then I had to get some work done tonight, because I'm taking off tomorrow for a school event (LOVE that word!) for Ysabel and some of the pus came back. And that's just work which is actually causing me the least stress right now becuase it's temporary...

I had this dream where I get into my van and it's clean(!) and there's this little camping shovel in the front floorboard. I drive up into the N. Ga. mountains and find a nice, big Live Oak (What's that doing there?). So, I get out, grab my shovel and start to dig around the roots. Some indeterminate amount of time passes and I prop my shovel on my shoulder, feeling tired but that I'd accomplished a job well done... As I look around, I find I've dug out a complete copy of Mr. Tumnus' house under this tree. Cozy arm chair, small but tidy kitchen (with everything I need, including groceries), a fire place with a fire, a couple of nice paintings, several bookshelves with books. On the table next to my arm chair is a steaming pot of tea and a nice mug. Oh and there's a little bedroom with a soft bed off somewhere. What do you think that means?

Should've known...

On Wednesday, Molly and I met Ysabel and Rosa in Decatur to attend a book signing at our favorite book store. Rick Riordan writes mysteries for adults, but he started a series for kids about a boy who's dad is Poseidon. Needless to say this causes some complications in his life. Really good adventures. His 4th book in the series came out on Tuesday.

Little Shop of Stories was a MADHOUSE. And I forgot to ask Rosa to bring our books to sign and by the time I got there there was well over 100 people in line to get theirs signed. And he was almost an hour late. Well you can see the crowd. I got a couple of shots of the author, too.

Jerry Spinelli (Holes)was supposed to be there at 5:30 for a meet and greet with local teachers and librarians. But after a day at work (And I forgot to wear flats. Poor planning.) and I was hungry, I was ready to GO.

Silly me for not comprehending the rock-starness of these guys. I was so excited to let Mr. Riordan know how much we enjoy his books. So was everyone else apparantly. Ah well. At least we were out of the house. And we got to check out LSOS's new location. Our second favorite bookstore, Wordsmith, had moved as well. Both places are great locations.

I'm about to start rambling, as I am very exhausted. Mother's Day is this weekend. That means I get to clean house VERY well tomorrow. On Sunday, I'll go to church, then get my mom. Rosa and I willcook dinner for her and my mom-in-law. I was hoping I'd get out to play with Susan, but it's Mother's Day and I have work to do. Suck monkeys.

For those of you who read Leigh's (aka Rosa) blog, yes I know many of the pictures are the same. Well, all I can say is a good picture is a good picture. We had so much fun! The day started cold and damp so I rented a cape. Molly got the bat puppet she wanted. We saw a new show called Barely Balanced Danger Acrobatics that was seriously breath-taking. I showed the pictures to Bruce when we got home and he was amazed and rather put out that he had made the decision to stay up til 6 a.m. on Saturday. Since we got there before they opened, we caught the pre-show where the pirates steal the queen's jewels as ransom to get their ship back from King Henry. (For those who take all of this very seriously, the history is on a rather mushed up timeline. Get over it. It's FUN!) We ended up running into the pirates and the kings court over and over. At one of the fights, all four of the girls got invited to fight in the Battle Chess tournament on the pirates side. Refuse? No way! We love pirates! We saw the Flying Debris show and Blackenshear the Magician. The girls sat thru the Ded Bob show, but Rosa and I have seen it so many times we can recite it. We caught some of the Washing Well Wenches show and the Joust. Ysabel met Da Vinci. Cool! If we hadn't the girls with us Rosa and I would have participated in the Pub Sing at the end of the day. We did try mead for the first time. They have to serve a less alcohol version of it, as we live in Georgia and fun is relatively frowned upon. Rosa said it warmed her quite well. I was very happy with my Gypsy Caravan tea. Mmmmmmmmm............
Everyone fel asleep relatively early last night. Well, we were at the festival at 9:30 and left at ablut 6:30. And it's not a small place... If you're ever in GA any wknd from the end of April thru the first bit of June, you shold check this festival out. Very groovy.
How was your weekend?

Molly Day!

Happy Birthday Molly!

Typical spring in Atlanta. Beautiful weather during the week and rain on the weekends. We are supposed to be going the the Ga. Rennaissance Festival this weekend for Molly's 10th B-day. Weather Channel predicting rain. Taking friends, ofcourse. And Mol wants a couple of their bat puppets for presents.

We love the Renn Fest. We've been going every year since Rosa was 2.

I was listening to the lyrics to "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al. And all this time I thought I was cool. But, No!

Tuesday

My mother is in a nursing home these days about 15 minutes from my house. Another good reason to keep a blog. There's the therapy value, but also a way for me to keep tabs on myself. Mom's relatively young. I figure she started really losing it about 8-12 years ago. She will be 70 this year. I am watching myself closely. She is living the confabulous life. Getting married to John Mellancamp (Do we have to listen to his music at the reception?), saving everyones life who was on tour with Travis Tritt as she wrested the pilot out of his seat to fly around a storm cloud, hanging out with Harry Connick, Jr. in New Orleans while she was stripping there, owning a multi-million $$$ house in Celebration, FL. Well. she really was a stripper...

Bruce's father has destroyed all of his short term memory with alcohol and I figure alocohol didn't help my mom any either. She spent several years really putting it away for fun and relaxation (and lunch and dinner) after my dad passed.

I found out I was pregnant with Bella about three weeks after my last great tear. My bosses at the time took all the girls who worked for them out to party. And we did. Many, many shots of tequilla worth of party. I asked Bruce not to drink so thast I could, to no avail. We left the Gwinnett mall area to head to Stone Mountain and ended up in Marietta (opposite direction). I was sick 3 times (not in the car) on the way home and I had to open the store the next day SO hung over and sick. NOT worth it. So I'm sober. I may have a drink once or twice a year. A drink.

But I find that I have more fun without it. I really don't have a problem with saying what's on my mind. And when I was drinking I would SAY THINGS and not have the presence of mind to defend myself. I can defend myself when I'm sober. It's no problem hanging out with my friends shooting pool at a bar cause theyre just the same as they continue to drink. Perhaps louder. No problem.

O.k. Bella's waiting to watch "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". And this is where she'll be watching it. I really must get a laptop.

Good Omens

Well last night was a lovely time. I spent several hours with Kristen and Rosa talking music. I got some lovely ideas from them for some cool stuff.
I talked to my firlend Steve. I called him Friday and he was out with friends from work. He called me and I was here with friends... well from here, I guess. I'll call him back today. And more about him later.
But here you go~ I finished "Good Omens" last night! Really great book. I started it on Friday. And, well, I had just barely gotten into the day of Armageddon (sp?) Saturday night. So last night I HAD to finish because I had to find out what happened at the end of the World and to the forces of Good and Evil. And the Antichrist. All I can say is we had better start taking better care of the planet. Love to Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimon for surprised Chateau Lafitte and a superb bunch of folks to save us all.

Holy cow! I must say that I never thought a side effect of my job was not being able to sleep in on Saturdays. So, 6 a.m. and I've got my first cup. For the last 2 or 3 days I've been mildly agonizing over this blogging business. When I decided to do it, I had all these great Ideas and then as I thought about it more I was like, "Why are these so great?" Then last night as I was reading "Good Omens", I threw off my self doubt and just said, "What the HAY!" If the end of the world is that close, does it really matter? Well, maybe it does. There's no accounting for quantum physics... So, enough of my self examination. Let's jump into something.
Mi esposo is off to his friend's 50th birthday party tonight. Yay! After nearly 25 years together, I have no qualms about him going off to pretend he's 22 again. So we are having a Girls Night tonight! Kristen and Em & Lyds are coming over for whatever we can cook up. It will be so nice just to sit and visit. I suggested an over night for us all and we could just get up for church tomorrow and all go together! However, Kristen has to work at 6 tomorrow morning. Stinkbugs! I'll ask if I can keep her kids, then.
I have two girl friends. Kristen and I have been friends since right after our youngests were born. We met at church. Her husband had just gotten the youth minister job at Holy Trinity in Decatur and we met while we were hiding in the bushes for a smoke. Lovely people but latant bad girls, us two. Ha ha. Truth is, we are both too responsible to be too much trouble. Of course she is MUCH more responsible than I am. She is one of the rockinest people I know. It's nice to have another mom I can turn to and say, "If I dropped my kids off of a high bridge in North Carolina back country, do you think I'd get caught?" and she'll help me work it out.
My other friend is new. Her name is Susan and she is a new teacher at the school where I work. We've visited away from work a couple of times and we're both like, "Hey! I like you!". It's very cool and a little weird becuase we're both a little afraid of sounding sappy and stalker-ish. I find it truly amazing to find a friend with such similar thinking. We can almost finish each others sentences.
Well, I need to go clean up and hit the grocery store.

Number 1

I am Sue; honey, mom, daughter, secretary, good friend, teacher, a mess, the zen pool master, goof-off, hard worker, bitch, artist, cook, gardener, walker, student. Well, that's a little of who I am. This is my first blog. My friends are all doing it. I resisted for a long time, but it finally felt like the time was right.

I'm trying to do this with my cat in my lap and ideas whirring around my brain. In my family there is 1 me, 1 Bruce (spouse), 1 Rosa, 1 Ysabel, 1 Molly (all daughters) and 3 critters.

I am drinking my coffee an contemplating a flower bed that I started cleaning yesterday. I live in Georgia and the pollen is dreadful right now. The Weather Channel says Stay Inside! The flower fall out will turn you into something unrecognizable! But I go out. I have waited to be with my yard until the temeratures moved out out of the uncomfortable zone. And I miss being in the dirt and under the trees. When I come back inside, I have puffs of yellow pollen coming out of my clothes and hair, my eyes are puffy, my throat is clogged, I sound like Beavis (or Butthead) to others and like I'm in the bottom of a well to me. And so out I go again! Walking to Walgreens for smokes with Rosa. Oxymoron? I prefer to call it balance.
See you round like a donut!