i wonder as i wander

I'm no good

2009-07-26T20:38:00.026-05:00

Seriously, talk about lazy blogger syndrome!!! Anyways, here's the recap since Spring Break:

-Chaperoned the 5th grade trip to Washington D.C
-Lost my job due to budget cuts
-Had my 28th birthday on the last day of school (May 29th)
-Enjoyed 6th graduation at St. Mark's with my co-teacher Susanne
-Went to the last game of the NBA Finals with Steve.
-Watched Kobe get the trophy (boo!)
-Cheered my sister at the Iron Girl Triathalon (June)
-Went to NC for vacation- Yay!
-Keller family birthday party in July!
-Went to Disney for Steve's birthday (July 13th)
-Made Treacle Tart for our friend Mike's birthday and Harry Potter premiere party
-Hosted the 31st African Children's Choir at our church!

Whew! Summer is fun! If only I didn't have to actually find a job! Hahaha!

This was Shelly's face before the race, funnily enough it looked like this after it, too!

My super cute first cousin once removed, Lauren!

Keller Brothers!

Animal Kingdom for Steve's Birthday!

Treacle Tart!

Tickets for the 12:01 Show!

Erin loves Malfoy, Steve's fist does not.

Yay for friends and Harry Potter!!!

I caught them in mid-jump! Awesome!

That's all for now!

light the fire

2009-04-07T08:42:00.002-05:00

Well, Spring Break has come and gone, sadly. But Stephen, Bella, and I did have a nice little camping trip for a few of the days. Unfortunately, the weather was not as nice as we had hoped, so we cut it short, but we still had some fun here and there!

Check out my photo album of the trip on facebook by using this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=234647&id=736990331&l=2064488cab

Enjoy!
Happy Easter!

eight days a week

2009-03-24T10:00:00.007-05:00

Wow! Last week was a blur! But, it was great because that mad dash of concerts and music stuff led me straight into SPRING BREAK! Wahoo! Stephen is taking off the rest of the week (starting tomorrow) and we're going on a beach campout trip. We are staying at campsites on or near the beach in FL, GA and SC. Hopefully we'll make a few day trips into Savannah and Charleston as well. I'm sure there will be lots of photos to come! But first...

Last Thursday was my Spring Musical Program with 4th, 5th and 6th grades at school. They performed a show that I wrote and arranged about the birth of Rock and Roll music in the 1950's. They did a really great job singing, as well as playing guitar, recorder, and Orff instruments (like xylophones), dancing, and speaking in between the songs about American and Music history at that time. My co-teacher and I dressed up for the day- it was a lot of fun!

Here is a picture of the performance. It's a bit grainy, but the lighting in our hall is kinda dim, so it's the best you get. You can see me sitting in the chair conducting, and some of the sixth graders are doing the Jitterbug out in front. I wish I had a video clip or something because this picture doesn't do it justice! The songs included in our show were Rock Around the Clock, Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shoes, At the Hop, Yakity Yak, Rockin' Robin, and Willie and the Hand Jive!

Also this week, Steve got a hair cut. It looks like he was kidnapped by a army recruiter. Ha!

And lastly, Saturday night we had our first Jacksonville Children's Chorus concert of the Spring season. It was a bluegrass-themed concert with special guest, Grammy-award winning musician, David Holt. The evening was a blast, and many of our kids got to experience just how fun folk music can be. (Seriously, go here to check out an AMAZING clip of something he also performed at our concert). Anyways, I WISH I had some photos of our concert, my training choir kids did a GREAT job... maybe some will turn up after the commotion of this week dies down.

Anyways, 'til next time! Off to the BEACH!

harder to breathe

2009-03-16T09:35:00.005-05:00

Haha. That song title is funny! So, Stephen and I ran the 2009 Gate River Run this weekend. It was actually a lot of fun, even though the weather was so foggy and dreary all morning. The River Run is a 15,000 meter race (9.3 miles) through downtown Jacksonville and over 2 bridges that cross the St. Johns River. It is a major event for our city, and part of what makes it so fun is that we ran with nearly 20,000 of our closest friends. Okay, so we only saw a few people that we knew, but everyone is very friendly and congenial during the race. Seriously! All along the race route are tons of people cheering you on and even some local bands playing you on! It was around mile 4 that we passed a band playing Harder to Breathe by Maroon 5. It's funny because the chorus of the song ends with "Is there anyone out there? 'Cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe." It was very appropriate at that moment! Anyways, we enjoyed ourselves and accomplished our goal of running the whole thing. Stephen ran with me for the first 5 miles, and then sped on ahead (which was fine by me!!!) to finish in about 1 hour and 32 minutes. I came in at 1 hour and 41 minutes, which was no record or anything, but I was glad I ran the whole thing and enjoyed it! Hooray!

Check out the horrible-looking sky behind us! This was before the race, but it looked pretty much the same the whole time. Oh well.

Then, later that afternoon, I went to a bridal shower for a friend from church, Rachael (in the middle). It was a lot of fun and so many people came! Here is our lovely group of ladies from church: Me, Ashley, Erin, Carrie, Julie, and of course Rachael.

Well, this week I have my big Spring music program at school on Thursday, and then a Jacksonville Children's Chorus Concert on Saturday night. It's going to be a busy week but I don't care because after this week is SPRING BREAK!!!

It might as well be Spring

2009-03-10T08:14:00.015-05:00

Man, I can't believe I missed February all together! Whew! It was a short month, but long on music and things going on. First up, the Opera. Like last year, I was in the chorus for the Jacksonville Symphony's big Opera production... this year it was Turandot. It was a lot of fun and the leads were very talented and fun to work with.

The Opera tells the story of a brutal Chinese Princess (Turandot) who takes her issues and anger over past wrongs against her family out on every guy she comes across (via Beheading). I was a handmaiden. Fun times!

Um, what do you mean I'm not Asian?

Then, the day after the Opera, Stephen and I went down to Gainesville to see the African Children's Choir Musical, Journey of Hope. I had heard a lot about it, but not seen it yet, so it was a nice treat to go and reminisce about my time with the choir. Ah, memories.

For more information, or to see when a choir might be in your area, go to:

http://www.africanchildrenschoir.com/

Also, I got to visit with my Irish/Scottish friend and former co-worker, Kyle. (In case you are wondering about that- his family is Irish, but now lives in Scotland.) Kyle came on tour while I was there and is STILL working for the organization as a sound... um, guy? technician? engineer? Well, yeah he runs the sound. Anyways, it was super good to catch up and hear how he's been doing the last few years.

The following weekend was Valentine's Day. I had a concert in Orlando with the Festival Singers of Florida, so that pretty much took up all the time for V-day niceness with Stevie. Here's a link to a video of our concert- it was a lot of work, but a lot of fun!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvkJYPpqr8Q

However, I have to say that Valentine's wasn't completely about singing with no niceness. Stephen gave me this very nice present in the morning before I went to rehearse. Isn't he sweet?

Speaking of presents, I received this from a very nice 4th grade boy. It was his birthday and he was giving out cookies at school. ARMADILLO cookies. Awesome. I never did eat it because it was just too cute.

It looks like Steve is a member of El mariachi de Richard Simmons. Ha!

Bella's doing well- perfecting her Sphinx pose.

And right before February ended, I got to sing Jazz for a gig at the Cummer Art Museum in Jacksonville with some friends. We've been slowly getting things rolling as a band, and hopefully will get booked for some more things soon- I need the money! Yes, we got paid- woo hoo professionale!

Okay, well that's about it for February. Hopefully I can post again in March with actual MARCH stuff. Spring Break is coming- so hooray for that!

Return of the Mack

2009-01-27T12:40:00.015-05:00

Hahaha. That song is funny. And no, I am not a "mack" but I HAVE been gone for a long time (from my blog). I looked it up and I can't believe that song came out in 1996. It really does not seem like that long ago. Oh well. So, to make up for lots of lost time, I am just going to post a bunch of things, maybe in no particular order. I haven't decided. So here goes!

First is probably the best picture we took all Christmas. Shelly and I bought this elf costume for Bella, and she was quite afraid of it when we first put it on her. She never did get used to the hat, so it didn't last long. But, she wore the holly collar for a few days. How festive!

Keller Christmas was fun! Here's a picture of my niece, Madison, and her new brother, Jackson. Grandma Carol is in the background.

Max, the dog, opening his Christmas present. He opened all the presents, actually. Note the shredded paper in the background. It was the funniest thing to watch him "help"!

The first annual Joiner ladies cookie baking day. Yep.

Ginny is the queen of icing, and I was helping her when I suddenly noticed this:
(Do you see it?)

It's a smiley face air bubble in the icing!
Whoa!!!

I made some VERY tasty Nutella cookies. They will definitely make an appearance again, soon!

This is the "Joiner Corner" sign at my parents house. AKA, the Narnia pole.

Right after New Year's, we went to my cousin's wedding in Rosemary Beach, FL. It was very nice and pretty!

Their wedding was soooo pretty and cool. Here is the central hanging light-fixture flower thingy that was suspended from the middle of the tent the got married in.

At the wedding!

What a cool night in a cool place!

I am proud of this shot I took. I stuck my camera in the crack of the open car door and just clicked. It was dark, it was about a 2 second window before they shut the door. Classic picture! Congrats to Donny and Caroline!

And this was our Christmas card this year. Happy New Year! I know it's late, but it's still new-ish! :-)

The Opera is coming up soon, as well a African Children's Choir Journey of Hope concert in Gainesville, AND a Festival Singers of Florida Concert in Orlando. Hopefully I will remember to take some pictures! Adios!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

2008-11-25T08:32:00.016-05:00

(well, almost)

To most, I know it's a tiny bit early for Christmas music, but not according to my dad! AND, my pictures and other goodies I have to post are just too fun and cheery...

So, even though I will be busting out the Christmas music very soon, for now I will just say that November has been the most wonderful time, so far!

Back in the beginning of the month, we we're down in Deland visiting family and Stephen played in a gold tournament with my dad. Fun! (for them) :-)

Then, my school had an assembly where we learned about this place from a mom who had been stationed there as a JAG lawyer. She gave a GREAT presentation about the country, culture, history, and children there. Afterwards, our school participated in a warm clothing and blanket drive for the many orhpaned and neglected children she had told us about! I was very proud of all the clothes our students (led by the fifth graders) collected to send to that place. I believe they have already been transported there and are being distributed just in time for winter!

Stephen and I were invited by some friends to attend a Trans Siberian Orchestra concert at the Jacksonville Arena. It was a lot of fun!

I didn't really know what we were going to see, but it turned out to be equal parts:

-Made for TV Christmas Movie Musical

-Laser Light Show (a la Stone Mountain!)

-Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Mania!

-And Symphonic Rock Concert

Here is a little video I sneaked with my camera! It's a very awesome version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" (Just imagine 2+ hours pretty much like this! I'm glad I don't have epilepsy!)

Then, last weekend we had a Friends Thanksgiving Dinner at our friend Joel's house. We made so much good food- I didn't know we have such talented cooks as friends!

I was proud to pick up the torch for our long-held family tradition of making fried turkey. It turned out pretty good for my first time!

Have you ever seen a real cornucopia? I have.

One of the many businesses based in Jacksonville is Peterbrooke Chocolatiers. This chocolate-coating machine is in the little store near our house... yeah, let's just say the smell alone is AMAZING. 'Tis the season for CHOCOLATE!!!!

I'm sure with all the holiday things coming up, more pictures will be coming! Until then, Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Monster Mash

2008-10-31T10:11:00.009-05:00

Yeah, so I am not a very big Halloween person, but today was a teacher work day at school and Susanne (my co-teacher) and I was a little loopy after some heavy-duty lesson planning.... so, we raided our costume closet- to dress up Bella (who is here today hanging out while we work.) This is our first Halloween with a dog, and I didn't think I'd be into doggie costumes, but it was VERY funny and Bell was a good sport. However, she is back to her regular costume: disguised as Black Beauty. :-)

Little Red Riding Hood

Blurry Close-up, but the expression was too priceless!

She was not really a fan of the princess hat. I guess she takes after me!

Butterfly Bella!

Ooh la la! She makes a tre' good french maid, no?

Tarzan! (Imagine her doing the Tarzan yell!)

Court Jester

Lady Bug

Lamenting her hard life as a Cabaret Singer. Or maybe she is ready to be a red-hat lady!Hahaha!

Over the River and Through the Woods

2008-10-19T17:07:00.003-05:00

So, things have been BUSY lately. But, I must say, well worth the effort. So a little over a week ago I began my epic journey out West and (UP NORTH) to visit some friends from African Children's Choir and go to a wedding. It was a ton of fun! We hadn't seen each other in at least 2 years, if not more for some of us... so it was great to catch up. Although few people understand this: once an Auntie, always an Auntie.

Enjoy the slideshow! Click on the link to go to Picasa where my web album is shared for any who want to snag these pictures (Jackson!!!) :-)

PS- in an unrelated note, congrats to my sister-in-law who just had her fourth child- a little boy named Jackson!

I'm sure with all of the events on the horizon, more will be coming (soon, I hope!)

Adios!

happy talk

2008-09-30T11:16:00.016-05:00

Given the state of things lately (bad economy, bitter politicians, broke government, bailout on wallstreet, and brazen dictators...) I have decided to post a blog of only happy things.

So, if you can't blog anything nice....

First of all (of course) is my cute dog at the dog park! Tell me this isn't such a happy picture!

Last Friday night, Stephen and I (plus Joel) were able to score free tickets to the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. There, we were fortunate to hear Sarah Chang play Sibelius' Symphony in D. And OH MAN!!! She is about 50 times more talented than she is pretty, so as you can see, she is a total freak of nature! It was such a beautiful performance, I would have even paid to go! (But still, hooray for free!)

These are two of the turtles on campus at school. Their names are Ursula and Squirt and I strolled past their window one day to find them sunning happily under their UV lamp. They are about the size of your hand, and c'mon aren't their faces so funny?!?!

Happy evenings at home with Stephen and Bella. Enough said!

Pretty Orchids set out for a parent meeting at school. Click on the picture to see it bigger- the detail on the petals is just stunning!

Last week (all of the sudden, out of the blue, completely unexpectedly!!!) the weather got cool for a few days. It was even in the 50's in the morning for a few days. It got me all excited for Fall. Everything was so pretty and crisp and the colors of earth and sky just seem so much more vibrant when the sweat isn't pouring into your eyes. Bring on the Global Cooling!!!

This past Saturday, Stephen and I got MORE FREE TICKETS (courtesy of Steve's work) to the FSU vs. Colorado football game. We even got to sit in the luxury box! And on top of everything, miracle of miracles: we won!!!

And lastly, this weekend I will be in a concert in Orlando with a new (and outstanding) group of singers! I even have solos!!! Wish me luck and come by if you're anywhere near!

With all that happiness, I almost forgot about all that crisis.

It's almost like I've heard that somewhere before... :-)

My country tis of thee

2008-09-17T13:42:00.005-05:00

My country 'tis of thee- sweet land of liberty- of thee I sing.

You know, I never noticed how grammatically strange the lyrics to that song are. Anyways, it's old.

I went to a John McCain rally in Jacksonville last Monday and here are a few pictures from it. The one of me is pretty unflattering, but it's the only one I have that proves I was there. Follow the link at the bottom of the post for more. Adios!

Here's the link for more photos and witty comments:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=155814&l=890c0&id=736990331

come rain or come shine

2008-08-28T21:29:00.010-05:00

Well, we made it through Tropical Storm Fay and the first days of a new school year, but it has been an eventful last little while. Here we were, just minding our own business and trying to get ready for last week...

And then, in one very slow and rainy swoop, Fay crawled near, school was cancelled, Fay arrived, and we lost electrical power.
As you can see, last Thursday was a taxing day.

When our power refused to come back on and Fay stalled and poured and crashed around us we decided to abandon ship. Fortunately, we have very nice friends (John and Katie) who let us stay with them at night so we could sleep in airconditioning. And Bella was glad cause she got to stay with her "brothers" Ben and Jack.

On Friday Stephen had to go into work and so Bella and I went along because, well, we didn't really have anything else to do.

Bella: "See how good I am?"

In the end, our power came back on Sunday morning and I was thankful for at least one day at home before starting school on Monday. But here are a few pictures of what it was like for any of you who haven't been through hurricanes and the like.

Lots of streets were flooded and closed. The ones with barricades were lucky because at least it was a clear "no-go" at the outset, instead of driving for a while only to have to three-point turn it in the middle of the road.

I am truly appreciative of our emergency, law-enforcement, and fire department workers who braved the downpour.

Yeah, see that street covered in water. The river is coming to get you. Watch out!

Last but not least, here is a cute picture of me and Bella. Maybe next time, Stephen will make it in the blog. :-)

The Long and Winding Road

2008-07-26T07:39:00.044-05:00

So, this blog is loooooooooooooong. I have been terrible about posting, so pace yourself, take it easy and I'll try not to drag on forever. But just know, it's long. I warned you.

Near the end of June Stephen and I took a vacation to North Carolina for my family's annual reunion. It's at Lake Junaluska in the very Western part and we had great weather.

Another pretty one.

The chapel at the Lake.

We went hiking with the family. Stephen and I climbed around on these waterfalls and lived to tell the tale. So that was fun!

Then we tromped around in the stream for a while. It was such a nice day for streams. And rocks.

Stairway to heaven.

Stephen and I went camping in a small town over the mountain, accessible via the most curvy road ever. We passed through this tiny, TINY town. The town of Luck.

Our campsite with the pretty view.

We tried to go for another stream adventure, but this steam was lukewarm from the nearby hot springs and full of algae and stream plants so it was a short-lived adventure.

After a tasty campfire dinner, we had smores and enjoyed the sunset.

Then we came back and went hiking again with the family. This is a real, live, beehive. It made me think of Winnie the Pooh.

The park area was called Big Creek and it was so cool and shady under the big, green trees.

We hiked up the mountain for a while. Shelly worked it.

We stopped for a picture with this large tree. And to catch our breath, whew! We got quite the workout!

But thankfully, a beautiful, clear, cold, spring-fed, mountain stream awaited us after our hike.

It was the coolest swimming spot! So many big rocks to climb and little pools to swim in. Ahhh....

Yea! for cousins. And hiking. AND STREAMS!

The next day, we played putt-putt golf. Steve beat me by ONE STROKE! ARGH!

Then later we decided to try our best at real golf at the driving range. It was fun. Steve, Shelly, Dad and I hit about a million balls between all of us.

On the way back to Florida, we stopped in for a visit at my Aunt and Uncle's house in Ellijay, Georgia. This is one of Aunt Martha's many gardening triumphs.

What's Georgia without.......
(Okay, so these are Nectarines, I think... but they sure look like Peaches)

Back in Jacksonville, we visited John and Katie's new house. Jack got scared of the thunderstorm and needed a buddy, which worked out well because I needed a nap! :-)

Out for a nice dinner on Stevie's birthday! Yea!!!

We got to go to an event held at the Stadium where there was a catered dinner in the Jacksonville Jaguars' locker room! This sign was outside. Just in case you need a refresher...

Look! There's David Garrard's soap! Awesome!

Paul, Stephen, me and Evan. Go Jaguars!

Watch out- there's a Jaguar behind that bush!

Then we went to the moon. Not really, but that would be cool.

Right at the end of July, we ended up going to NYC on a very-last-minute work trip for Stephen. We flew on the smallest plane ever. There AND back. But we survived.

This was the first time I'd ever had a rental car in the city. We drove through lower Manhattan on our way to New Jersey and didn't even hit any pedestrians!!! Way to go, Stephen!

While we were up there, we got to visit a lot of friends. Tara Leigh, Brendan, Jonathan, Robbie, and Sarah. While we were sitting on a park bench chatting the evening away with TLC, the old brick square looked pretty. Like this:

A bit rainy, but still pretty.

On my last night there, Stephen and I saw Legally Blonde: the Musical. So, we had to go to Times Square. But thankfully only that once.

The show was sooo much fun and afterwards we ended up seeing the cast signing autographs. Here's Autumn (the runner-up from the MTV show to cast Elle Woods, and my favorite). She's soooo tiny.

And here's Bailey, the new Elle Woods. She did well. Also, very small.

It was hot outside, but we had a fun night on the town!

Then I came back early and stayed at my parents' house in Deland. Dad's yard work was looking mighty fine.

Hydrangea's have pretty leaves, too!

Bella had a fun time visiting them also. She loooooves windows.

Whew! Sorry that was sooo long, hopefully you made it through eventually!!! Til next time! Over and out...

Happy, happy birthday baby!

2008-07-07T17:21:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Melodie (my cousin) and Kevin (her husband) Logue!!!

schooooool's out

2008-06-06T09:43:00.019-05:00

(for the summer!!!)

...and because it's been sooo long since I posted, I'm going to catch you up to date and describe my last two months with pictures!

First, sweet flowers from my students after our very successful production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. YAY!

Cool little starfish we found (a little more than an inch) on one of several recent beach trips!

The incredibly rainy but still fun (f0r the sixth graders) 5th vs. 6th grade kickball game.

I think the score ended up being like 21 to zero or something... :-/

If this were China, I think 2008 should be regarded as the "year of the check". The only economy I stimulated was VISA's.

Stephen was sweet enough to accompany meet out one evening to the beautiful Florida Theatre to watch a dance recital that some of my students were in. It was fun!

Who says Florida doesn't have any culture??? ;-)

Our failed Memorial Day weekend camping trip ended up here:

One afternoon, I awoke from a nap on the couch to find this:

Bella had crawled on top of the couch cushions and her face was RIGHT next to mine. Haha!

Next up, Birthday fun!

First off, I went to the movies by myself on my birthday (Steve was working) and it was fun!!! I went to a 1:00 PM show and the theatre had just opened and NO ONE was there. See?

I have been enjoying my awesome b-day presents, such as this Mandolin from Steve-O. Thanks, babe!

And I hope to have a very crafty summer using this great gift from my parents! (I really wanted one!!!)

And my nice sister sent me all kinds of things in the mail, of which this is a sample: (Besides the CD I got chocolate covered popcorn, grahams, oreos, nutter butter cookies, and pecan clusters. Yum!!!)

Stephen also surprised me with some beautiful roses!!! How sweet...

Bella chasing her cousin, Buddy (Dani's dog) at the dog park in DeLand. They had such fun!

It has been VERY hot and humid here lately, but we have had a few gorgeous evenings. This is a picture from the deck at our Head of School's condo (where we had a "TGISummer" party). I have really come to love living so close to the river.

And here's a nice picture of us before we went out to eat for my birthday. We went to Mossfire Grill and used a gift certificate my Aunt gave me as a present. Thanks Aunt Laurie, it was yummy!

Okay, well hopefully now that school's over, I will be better about posting. Especially since we have some adventures planned for the near future! Woo hoo!!!! I love summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tout doucement

2008-04-13T20:21:00.012-05:00

This is a really great French song (that I heard sung by Feist) about taking time and life and going slow... the translation is something like this:
All slow, all slow, all slowly
Always, all slow, all slowly
This way
Life is amazing.

Maybe I am digging this these days because things have been so busy!!!!

Anyways, during my spring break (like a month ago now!!!) I went to FSU for the first time in nearly 4 years (since I graduated!) for a visit. It was so great to be back and see all the changes and construction. It was just the most beautiful Tallahassee day, and that made me remember why I loved living there (weather-wise). It was like 65 and not a cloud in the sky- everything was in bloom!

Here's Ruby Diamond Auditorium in the Wescott Building. Sadly, the fountain was turned off for repairs.

Then, after returning to Jacksonville, my college friend, Michelle, came and visited us! It was a ton of fun and I am glad to say the weather in Jax wasn't too shabby either! These pictures were taken on one of our long walks through the historic district.

This picture makes me laugh because of the pigeons. I think Pigeons should be the symbol of perseverance, because they will ALWAYS find a way. :-)

Memorial Park on the St. John's River. Note the Spanish-y railing, so pretty!

I thought the bends in this tree's limbs were quite interesting-looking.

This little boy was enjoying a day in the park (and some corn) and I took this picture holding the camera down by my side (to be incognito) but apparently I didn't fool him!

In Jacksonville, Spring has finally Sprung as well. Everything's blooming!

And of course, what blog would be complete without a funny picture of our dog, Bella. The part I love about this is that she is sitting on the ARMREST of the couch. She was just sitting there... keeping an eye on things I guess!

It was way fun to have Michelle with us and hopefully we will be able to visit her sometime in Austin!

So that was my Spring Break... but of course, since then things have been speeding along, so more is coming, coming!

what the world needs now

2008-03-18T10:12:00.004-05:00

Annnnnd, finally here are the pictures from our awesome weekend of having the African Children's Choir back in Jacksonville. The Jacksonville Childrens Chorus (who I work for) was able to do a joint concert with the ACC (who I used to work for). It was sooo much fun and the concert was a smash hit! Also, 5 of the children from this group are returners from a previous tour that I worked on! So I got to reunite with those kids who I had spent so much time with in 2004/2005. It was a blast! We had the three boys from choir #26 (my choir) stay with us at the house and they had so much fun with Bella and Stephen. So, now Stephen and I are just trying to figure out how to raise the money to take a trip to Uganda before these kids turn 20! Wish us luck! :-)

We took the boys to the park and we had such a fun time!

Then we went for a walk downtown by the river. Ah, Jacksonville! From left:
Elijah Bwojji, Emmanuel Opolot, and Mark Tumukunde

And the other two children from our tour: Rita Kansiime and Suzan Nakandi!

Yay for sweet fun children!

and so it goes...

2008-03-18T09:56:00.004-05:00

So here's the follow up to our church-project gas buy down. It was really fun and successful in that we were able to impact about 200 different families in just over 2 hours! Yay!

Here's the link:

First Coast News Video

And if you watch the video carefully, you can see me! Here's a few fun pictures of our own!

Enjoy!

There's me in the long grey shorts.

it's a highway to heaven!

2008-03-12T19:55:00.002-05:00

Sorry, I know that is WAAAAY cheesy, but I couldn't help it. Check out
This Video
for something cool that our church is doing!

Yea! More photos from this past weekend to come!

please don't stop the music

2008-02-29T08:56:00.019-05:00

Catch-up time! Sooo.... in the last month or so, things have been (as usual) going a mile a minute. So, let's start at the beginning.

During our honeymoon I was asked to fill a now-vacant spot in the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra's upcoming Opera, La Traviata. Upon returning home, I had approximately 2.5 weeks to rehearse and learn all the Italian before our big performance. It was a very whirlwind experience, but I had a lot of fun! Here are my costumes from the first and third acts. I was a Victorian Lady (with a capital L! I think that just means you are very rich...)

In this picture I hadn't yet put on my gloves, but just imagine black velvet elbow length gloves. :-) Check out how long/big my dress is!!!! It was soooo fun. It followed behind me at least 6 feet! I felt like Scarlett O'hara. hahaha...

First Act: watching the amazing Scott Piper (Alfredo) sing the famous Libiamo ne' lieti calici while I look on adoringly... ha!

Act Three: Gypsy song! I was picked (albeit randomly) to be a gyspy, had to wear a kinda scary looking mask, and luckily got to play a tamborine! woo hoo!

Awesomely hideous angry opera faces. We were supposed to look like that. ;-) Alfredo did a bad, bad thing.

Towards the end when Alfredo is learning his lesson that he messed up, but we are all sad because we know it won't end well...

This is actually during the dress rehearsal. We had to stop for a minute while the Orchestra worked on something. My dress was very hot... so I had to hike it up a bit. I had NO idea anyone was photographing us! Oops!

So, yeah for Opera. You get to sing loud, in italian, with as much over-dramatic gusto as you can muster. Fabulous!

So THEN right after the Opera, I had minor surgery to address some Ovarian cysts (or so they thought). Turns out I have Endometriosis, but the surgery went really well and my prognosis looks good. I actually just went to the Dr. yesterday and she gave me the all-clear as far as my recovery is concerned. So that is good. But anyways, had surgery. Felt Icky. THEN started to feel better just in time for our wedding present from Michelle...

A trip to see this dude in concert:

Michael Buble! It was very fun! Yeah for good music and nights out!!!

And here's a picture of my cute husband after the concert. I just had to include it. :-)

Somewhere in that week there was a Lunar Eclipse. I dragged myself off the recovery couch long enough to ghetto-rig our camera on top of my car to take this picture:

(not bad for an object that is 1.255 light-seconds away!)

AND THEN... we went to the beach with our good dog, Bella. Actually we went twice, last weekend and the one before. Good times! Yay for Springtime in the Florida Sunshine!

Bella likes to attack blankets. and paper. and fringe. and towels, obviously.

This was (for about 30 minutes while the tide was out) our own little private sand bar island! It was awesome! We waded out from the shore and let Bella run around and chase the birds. :-)

Happy dog and happy us. See you again soon!

here's that rainy day!

2008-02-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

Wedding photos, at long last! Speciall props to our awesome photographer, Andrea VanKirk. She rocks!

That's Life

2008-01-30T13:05:00.000-05:00

Or at least this WAS our life for about 10 days on our honeymoon! Woo hoo!

PS- if you want to see it bigger and/or control the speed, click on the little person icon in the botton left corner of the box and it will take you to the picasa website where you can watch the slideshow. Thanks!

the now and the not yet

2008-01-28T10:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, okay... so yes, we're back. And YES, we have about 87,000 pictures, so I'm trying to get them in a format (maybe, slideshow???) that is actually fun and efficient to watch... but until then, this was too fun and random to pass up!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Cinnamon Matrix
2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) Strawberry Peanut Butter (I am confused... Gangsta? I can't think of any combos of probable answers that sound even REMOTELY Gansta.... hm... new prompt?)
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
L Kel
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Blue Giraffe
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, hospital where you were born) Dart Candler
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
KelLi (wait, isn't that a real name?) how about JoiLi...
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) The Green Rootbeer?
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) Robert Wilbur Dorsey
9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Louis Dart (wait, am I am man in the witness protection program...?)
10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) Fust Fairbanks
11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) Autumn Orchid...cool!
12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Pineapple Scarfy
13. HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) Kashi Sycamore!!!
14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) The Singing Thunderstorm Tour! Hahahaha.

rock around the clock/wake me up before you go go!

2008-01-06T21:40:00.000-05:00

Needless to say... the last few weeks have been a whirlwind! And here we go... down the home stretch to W-day... one week and counting!

Let's get this party started with some sure to make you smile... unless you're TLC (HA! love you, Tara Leigh!) Here's Bella smoking a stogie. Hahaha... or... chewing on her bone. :-)

And in case you were wondering... I'm watching you!

Here is my sister, Shelly, modeling (read: trying on) some Christmas presents... (dad's sunglasses and Ginny's game-worn Luke Scott Astros jersey)

It was a great first Christmas for me, Stephen and Bella.. Although the family is ever-changing, it has been exciting and fun seeing all the new pieces of the puzzle come together.

Shelly, Ginny and me. (Should I be wearing a cream-colored hat of some sort?)

Christmas Eve present time at my Aunt and Uncles house (next door). Steve wore that Santa hat for about 4 days straight. Hahahahaha.

Here is our kinda blurry but still nice Christmas picture. :-)

Then back to Jacksovnille for Christmas Day presents. Here, Stephen is modeling some of his gifts (and the hat...).

Then, the friday after Christmas, Shelly threw me a bridal shower at my Aunt's house. It was very nice. Here is me.

Then, for New Years, Stephen and I went to a fancy italian restaurant, and walked in the park (shown below... it was dark but had Christmas lights in the trees)...

...and walked down to the river to watch the fireworks. The shoot them from two barges amidst the bridges and we were right in between the displays. It was a REALLY good show! In this picture you can kinda see the barge they are being shot from and the bridges.

I know pictures of fireworks are a dime a dozen, but there were a lot of really pretty ones... such as...

Our friends Jeremy, Andrew and Ryan were there watching with us. Good times.

Here's us at the river before the fireworks began. Happy New Year's folks. I think 2008 will be a big year for us... I hope it will be filled with surprise goodness for you all too!

always something there to remind me

2007-12-08T09:40:00.000-05:00

A few last things... pictures from my phone. Even though I miss the quality of our other cameras, sometimes it's nice to have the phone as a back-up. Enjoy!

This is from a month or two ago when Stephen and I were hanging out in Deland and went to the Original Music Festival. This band was called (I think) Earth Sky Orchestra, and they were actually really good. I was playing around with my phone settings and acheived this cool looking photo. The guy second from the left is also playing the dijeridoo. (I have no idea how to spell that.)

I wonder about the reason for the obsessive need to celebrate/notate/witness digital counters rolling over. Well, whatever it is, I couldn't resist when my good car recently reached a milestone. Sorry it's blurry, I was driving on the interstate.

Here's another shot of the Jags game we went to. You can see how we were thisclose to the action! Woo Hoo!

And finally, the cutest thing I've seen in a while. Aw, look at my family. :-) Lucky me!

happy holidays!

2007-12-07T14:25:00.000-05:00

Well, it's that time.... Chrsitmas! Things have been hectic in the music world with Christmas music programs here, there and everywhere. But, admist the rehearsals, I have had some time to just enjoy the season.

This is the Jacksonville Children's Chorus Training Choir (that I direct) right after our holiday concert last Monday. The kids did well and were understandably hyped-up after that!

Susanne, my co-teacher, put on a Christmas musical with the 2nd and 3rd graders. It was soo cute, and a lot of people were there... all the students, faculty, parents... and of course these folks: (Mary and Joseph!)

Then, my 5th and 6th graders led our holiday chapel service and provided all the music and scripture readings. 5th grade played recorder, 6th played guitar, and they all helped out with various percussion, singing, and Orff intrsutment parts. They did very well and I was very proud of their hard work.

The other night I went for a long walk/run with Bella in our neighborhood. I wisely took along the camera, and I was sooo glad I did because the night and the lights were so pretty! Here's a cool shot of Downtown Jacksonville looking up the river. It was such a clear night, this picture barely captures how pretty it was!

Here's a classic River City Christmas tree for ya!

And another one lighting up the pretty Oak trees!

This is a very cool dove made of Christmas lights that is suspended from a tree. It hangs right over the street and it is big!

And of course, Have a Happy Florida Christmas!

Once Upon a December

2007-12-07T13:04:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I missed November entirely! That's crazy... there has been a lot going on... and I have been trying to take lots of pictures. Because I'm making up for lost time, I'll just post as many fun ones as I can and hopefully not overwhelm you with information. Thank you for your time. :-)

So, it finally happened. Stephen and I got a dog! Right before Thanksgiving we adopted her from the shelter and her name is Bella (given to her by her foster family). She's doing great and we've been having a blast with her!

She rides pretty well in the car. Especially when...

.... she goes to sleep! :-)

She's ready for her extreme close up! Hahaha.

She has started hanging out the window when we ride. We only let her do it in the neighborhood and on small roads, but she loves it! The smells in her nose, the wind in her... ears!

During Thanksgiving we had a lot of great family time, and Friday night we went to Orlando for a Magic Game. It was FUN!

We went with Stephen's brothers, (from left) Stephen, Evan, Rob, Camden, and Dani. Good times!

Me and Shelly at the game.

Then on Sunday, Steve and I went to a Jacksonville Jaguars game (we were given free tickets). And it turned out that the seats were on the THIRD ROW! It was great!!! Here's the picture of Steve and his friend Hardy right before the camera died.

Well, that's all for now. I'm going to make another post or two with more updated content...

Here, there and everywhere

2007-10-29T20:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have been looking forward to blogging for a while now.... buuuuuut the pictures and stories have been piling up so that I have put it off until: TODAY!
First of all, we need to go back in time a bit... to before my last post...
Steve and I were driving randomly about town one Thursday night and we ended up downtown at the river. We started at this cool park with a nice fountain and pretty views of the skyline.

Pictures in front of the foutain!

Pretty lights!!!

Then we walked across the blue bridge (see first picture) and wandered over to the Jacksonville Landing, a collection of shops and restaraunts. We had really been wanting to go dancing and we stumbled across a club that was having Latin night! After a really fun time dancing, we were quite tired and decided to try our luck and catch a ride on a skytram they have that crosses the river. *BUT* it was in the other direction of the way we came, so it was a bit of a gamble (and my feet were HURTING!!!) When we got to the tram station, it was locked and we found the schedule that said the last train was about 2 minutes before we got there! Noooooo! We walked around to the other side of the station and happened to see an attendant locking up. I asked him if we had missed the last train and he paused a moment and asked, "what station?" Well, he ended up giving us a FREE ride all by ourselves over to the other station. It was GREAT!

I didn't want to annoy the guy who was so nice to us, so I just took his picture as he walked away! Thank you, Jax Skytram man, whoever you are!

All in all, it was a really awesome time!

Okay, now we are back up to speed with where I left off after my last post. This is the trip to Stuckey. First stop, road-side boiled peanuts! Mmm.... tasty.

Next stop.....

Vidalia, home of the sweet onion. Seriously, they are all about onions. Exhibit A: (outside our hotel)

Sunday morning we went out to the old Joiner homestead in Stuckey. Before we headed out to church, we did a little photo shoot. (Don't worry, we won't be late... the church is down the street!)

Here's Stephen, contemplating country living.

And, the neighbors! (Aunt Susan and Uncle Lloyd)

Then we headed over to the church. It was a special Sunday because it was homecoming AND it was the church's 100 year anniversary.

After church, what else? CHURCH POTLUCK! Yessssssssss! They even have a separate ROOM down that back hallway for the desserts!

Once we were back at the house to relax, we did a little science investigation to discover how pecans grow. I had really never thought much beyond the fact that they grow on trees. It was cool. We even ate a few. The pecans are found inside the casing part shown below.

Ah, good times with the fam. It was a nice trip, as expected. This is the Joiner Clan. I have to give a special recognition to my great-Aunt Parah-Lee (in front) who is 93!

Now, the next weekend after Stuckey, Stephen and I ended up going to DeLand/Central Florida for the weekend so I could do wedding stuff with my mom. Stephen played golf with my dad, aunt and uncle. On the way there as we were heading out of Jacksonville, we noticed that I-95 northbound had been completely shut down! We weren't sure what was going on until the motorcycles started coming... and there were hundreds and hundreds of them! Maybe thousands! For a good 10 minutes they drove past us in a big motocycle parade. It's not the best picture, but all those headlights are motorcycles. It was crazy!

On Saturday mom and I had a marathon wedding planning day I hope I won't ever have to repeat. Starting at 8AM we went to the rental store, the wedding/reception location, the florist, and finished the day with 3+ hours at the print shop doing the invitations. THEN, we went to the place we are having our pre-wedding party at and met Stephen's mom and finished our evening at the restaurant we hope to use as caterers. Yikes! Anyways, here are pretty chairs for the wedding...

And pretty flowers... I think these ones are Delphiniums... so pretty!

THEN, to finish off our whirlwind weekend, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure on Sunday. Because I work for the public school system I got in free and Stephen got in for half price! Yeah! This is us there:

AND, last but least exciting, about a week after that Stephen and I were headed to Publix when another driver ran a red light and hit us. Boo. My poor car is still not fixed yet, but I think we are getting close. (We have been waiting on insurance stuff, of course...) So anyways, life goes on. Hopefully I will have new pictures to post again soon... we are going out of town again this weekend to see family/friends/do wedding stuff... Until then!

Georgia on my mind

2007-10-02T09:28:00.000-05:00

Ah, Georgia. What a good song. I have held a soft spot in my heart for this song even before that movie "Ray" came out. Hahaha. I'm sure I've always felt rather attached to it because I was born in Georgia and my Dad's side of the family is from there. When my grandma passed away, I was in college, and while I was home with family cleaning out her house, I was able to acquire some very cool old family photos. I finally got around to scanning them the other day and also was able to talk about them with some of my Dad's family. They are such cool pictures and I am glad to have them as a reminder of my heritage. When I was a child, I remember envying friends and people I knew who had what I considered to be exotic and interesting grandparents from other countries. And if their first language was something other that English, oooh, that was even better. So, it surprised me just as much as anyone when, upon exploring more of this Earth than I had before, I realized that "Southern" is disticntive enough to be considered its own cultural heritage when viewed by someone from say, Canada. :-)

This first picture is of my grandma, Irene Barnard and her Aunt, Mildred. Or so I've been told. Apparently my great-grandma's family were very musical and several of them played the Mandolin. My grandma is the one with the dog.

This photo is also of my grandma, Irene. I love this picture, because even though I didn't meet grandma until a lot later, this picture is a great reminder to me of her spirit.

This fishing picture (probably in some canal in coastal South Georgia, I've been told) features my grandfather, Wilbur Dorsey Joiner in the foreground. Everyone laughs at this picture because it's one of the very few I've ever seen where he still has hair. My grandfather passed away a few years before I was born, so it's so nice to find pictures of what his life was like.

Another cool family story is that my grandma went to work in a shipyard in Savannah during the 1940's as a welder. I like to invision her as a real-life Rosie the Riveter. And, it was during this time that my grandparents met, at the ship yard. This photo has my grandma's handwriting on the back labeling it as: "Dorsey's crew". Look at that TANK!

This is my grandfather's youngest brother, Robert (Bob) Joiner. I believe this was him in uniform during his service in the Korean War. He still lives in Atlanta with his wifa, Sylbra.

This is a picture of my great-grandmother, Granny Barnard. I don't know what her first name was because I only ever heard anyone refer to her as granny. She passed away when I was a child from Alzheimer's so I was so pleased to find with photo of her out for a row-boat ride.

I can't remember who this is, actually. It's someone on my grandma's side. Probably her Mom or Aunt. But I do know this picture was taken in downtown Savannah. The city where many years later, I was born!

This is my grandfather in later years. It's funny to me how much of my Dad I can see now in this picture. And I guess since I see a good bit of my Dad in me... I'm in there somewhere as well.

I LOVE this picture of my dad. I'll have to ask him again about the story behind it, because I've already forgotten. But there's something about him being at his grandma's house and something about that cake. But still.

So this weekend Stephen and I will be off with my parents, Jim and Debbie Joiner, my Aunt and Uncle, Lloyd and Susan Joiner, and Aunt Susan's mom, Betty Wilkins, to meet up with some other family and probably my sister in Stuckey, Georgia. It's a very small town situated near Vidalia (known for it's onions) and some other tiny little places known for having strange names (Alamo, Scotland, Santa Claus, Lumber City...) There we will find a few hundred people, if we're lucky, an old tiny Baptist church, the old Joiner homestead, the graves of my granparents, as well as some other people I'm probably related to somehow. It's the yearly Homecoming Sunday there and I'm looking forward to spending some more time tracing and remembering the roots of our family. Hopefully this rain will finally stop so I can take some pictures. Until then...

at last...

2007-09-11T12:37:00.000-05:00

First of all, I LOVE that song.

Second of all, I have been trying to finish this blog (which has been in progress) for like the last two weeks. ah. at last....

Since it has been a month or so since my last blog, I have to go a ways back... The house Stephen and I found that I moved into is in a historic district and there is a lot of Spanish influence in Jacksonville in general and in our historic area even more so. Here is a pretty picture from a church about two blocks away.

Ah, Florida. Such prettyness... when it's not raining... or 105 degrees. But nice to look at in 2-D for sure.

Then about three weeks ago, Stephen and I went down to DeLand and I went to my friend Kate's bridal shower. I was in charge of making the bouquet out of ribbons and bows. It actually was pretty fun and I guess I had a lot of pent up creative energy or something because It came out pretty fancy. :-)

Then, the next day we went to Steve's brother, Evan's house for the Keller family birthday celebration. A bunch of the boys have their birthday really close together (like in the same week) so they usually just try and get everyone together for one big weekend. Especially with five brothers, it's kind of a challenge to get them all in the same place at the same time.

After dinner, Stephen's niece, Madison, and nephew, Camden, had some fun with sparklers.

Here are the five Keller boys in their brotherly glory. And the second generation, Camden. He is wearing a huge shirt from Evan's tree service. Clockwise from the bottom left we have, Rob, Steve, Dani, Jeremy, Evan and cute little Camden.

The following weekend, we returned to DeLand to spend time with family honoring the life of my cousin's grandpa who passed away, Gene Wilkins. It was a nice time with family (under the circumstances) and the star of the weekend (besides Popso) was my cousin, Ginny's new puppy, Murphy! He is sooo cute and we had tons of fun playing with him.

Stephen and Murphy, sharing some love. Aww......

Hard to imagine, Ginny used to be crazy-terrified of dogs- hooray for progress! And cute dogs!

Me and Steve at Aunt Susan's house, yay!

Then, Sunday night we went over to see some long-time family friends, the Candetos. AND we were happily surprised to find them baby-sitting their grandson, TJ. He was so fun and cute... and he thought we were hysterical!

Also, I spent some time with my friend Sam and her daughter, Emily. She is a fine girl. :-)

THEN, the following Thursday I went with the 6th grade class from the school I work at on their annual Pathfinder retreat to a campground about an hour and a half away. We had a crazy storm come through Thursday night, but Friday morning was quite pretty.

Of course, wherever there are 12 year-olds, you can imagine much silliness was to follow. This was during a skit that happened after breakfast. I'm not sure what the skit was about, though.... hehe...

This was a fun trust activity involving putting your hand on a mouse trap. The thing is, if you put your hand straight down, quickly, you put pressure on the trigger and it won't snap until you pull your hand safely away. The kids were pretty psyched out at first, but most of them did end up doing it. It was pretty fun.

Okay, well I guess that's it for now. I feel like so much more has happened... but hopefully that was at least somewhat informative if not super-entertaining. Anyways... onward!

we got the beat

2007-08-22T14:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, so a while back I happened across one of those new-fangled karaoke contest shows (singing bee? don't forget the lyrics? the ratings battle of wayne brady and joey fatone?) and I watched for a bit. I have to say, I think the singing bee one (on bravo) is tougher because if you get one single word wrong, you lose. Anyways, this song was one of the ones used and ever since then, it's been stuck in my head. Also, I think the chick didn't get this one right because she missed the "they can't wait to hang out and be cool" lyric. Soo.... hopefully now you will have it stuck in your head, too. Also, I start teaching music to 4th-6th grade tomorrow at St. Mark's Episcopal School... so I've had a lot of music-related songs rolling around in my noggin. Okay, now that I've explained myself, let's start the line-up.

First, here's Jeremy. A while back, a bunch of us gathered at Jeremy's condo to play poker. It was very fun and most of the people there had never played before, so I had fun taking all their money. Hahaha. No, just kidding. Well, not really.... but hey! It was fake money. Anyways, I WAS winning for a while, then Stephen claimed a BIG pot by beating my pair of queens with kings (ARGH!) and pulled into the lead. On the last had, we all went a little wild and stuffed the pot... and Jeremy won the pot and thus, the chip total! Although some might claim it was beginner's luck, it was still exciting- as evidenced below:

Jacksonville is a city on a river... the St. John's River to be exact. I may have mentioned it before, but here goes again. The St. John's is a BIG river and one of only a few in the world that flow from South to North. Jacksonville is right where the river starts to head out to the Atlantic Ocean and as such gets very wide at points. The neighborhood where Stephen and I have picked out a place to live (where I'll be staying until he comes in January) in the historic district which is aptly called Riverside. This is a picture of one of the pretty parks in our neighborhood.

So, Stephen and I are THINKING about getting a dog sometime in the next little while. This is a cute little dog up for adoption that I went to see (just for fun... for now) and her name is Reba. I don't know if Reba's the dog for us- or any dog for that matter right now- but she sure was a cutie!

So, about 3 weeks ago it was raining almost every day. And not just raining, but like torrentially down-pouring. Every day. Then, just as suddenly as it began, it stopped. And ever since then, it has been unbearably hot. Every day. Darn Florida Summer. Here's to more pleasant weather, which supposedly exists somewhere...

Stephen and I spent some quality time painting the dining room and living room of my (our) new place and once we finished and did a few other things in preparation, we were ready to move our stuff in. We were excited!

So, this past weekend was the big move-in day. Mom and dad brought all my stuff up from DeLand and Stephen and his friend John moved his things that were in storage. I must also give credit to John and Katie, Melodie and Kevin, and my parents, because with the 8 of us working, we had all the stuff unloaded and in the house in less than an hour! After some work, we got a few rooms looking pretty nice! Of course, I'm not posting any pictures of the other rooms that are full of boxes and look like a disaster! First up, the dining room:

Next, the living room!

This is a particularly nice feature: our cozy office/music room! And I finally got to move my piano from my parents' house... now I just have to work on playing it better!

Also, somehow this past weekend we managed to fit in a night out at the Jacksonville Jaguars' pre-season game against the Tampa Bay Bucs. This picture was taken looking out from the stadium at downtown and the pretty Hart Bridge. I thought it looked pretty cool with the way the lights came out all squiggly.

I didn't take any pictures of the game, because let's face it, we've all seen football games. But during half-time there was a BMX bike show. It was pretty cool. But, the coolest was when I heard them announce that the dude would be doing a flip or something and I got out the camera to see if I could get the shot. Stephen's camera has like a second and a half delay so I saw the rider coming and just pushed the button and hoped for the best... and voila! I couldn't believe I got it! I was so excited.

Although it had been a long, sweaty day... Stephen and I don't look too bad! Well, I guess that's all for now, over and out! (We got the beat, we got the beat... YEAH!) :-)

Don't Stop

2007-07-31T16:05:00.000-05:00

(That's what I keep telling myself when I own up to my blog negligence)
And now, I've got the song stuck in my head..
Don't. Stop.
...thinking about tomorrow!
And of course, that applies to this post as well, because a lot of things are on the horizon!

First off, we celebrated Stephen's 29th birthday on July 13th with some friends at a Thai restaurant he likes called Lemon Grass. It was very tasty... and pretty, for that matter.

Here's us... from left to right we have:
Jon Kananen, Jeremy Kaneer, Sherry and Nick Tobin (freshly back from their honeymoon and on their way outta town moving to Washington!) Katie Kananen (lucky Jon's wife,) me and Stephen. This also served as some nice bonding time for the guys who have (due to marriage and moving) recently lost their status as roommates .

Stephen and I FINALLY found a place to get married! Whoopie! After much searching, we found this place, Riverpoint Park in Daytona Beach. It's just perfect and I am very relieved we can stop looking and start planning! Just imagine chairs set up facing the water and with an aisle in the middle.

AND we have also found a place to live!!! This is another big relief to me, as I will be moving in here mid-August. Then we'll have a nice long while to get everything fixed up and ready to go for when Stephen joins the party in January. This is a picture of our cute little place in historic Avondale (an area of Jacksonville on the river). We are really looking forward to moving and getting settled!

I was driving around downtown Jax a week or two ago, and I found this awesome tree. It's called the Treaty Oak and it's a Southern Live Oak Tree. They say it is over two hundred years old... and it's cool because most of the big limbs rest on the ground, they are so big! You could make a tree-mansion out of this place!

Anyone from Orlando will recognize this place... it used to be a Sports shop for Orlando Magic Memorabilia. And I guess they have new plans for it... to be used as a airplane hangar or something... no, I don't know what they're doing with it, but it always stuck out in downtown and no one really likes the Magic anymore... so hopefully it can rest in peace.

This past weekend, we went down to Tampa for Stephen's last former roommate's wedding. The apartment-mates were Jon (married June 30), Nick (married July4), and James (married July 29)! Whew! That's a lot of weddings. And next (and well, last) of the roommates to be married is...
Us!

Here is the new couple: Mr. and Mrs. James McCafferty! Lucky Liz- following the ceremony, James whisked her away to Hawaii!

And since I never posted pictures from Jon and Katie's wedding... Here are the Kananens:

So, everyone keeps asking me how the wedding planning is going... and well, it's going. At times it is fun and exciting and at times it is overwhelming and aggravating... And most of you who know me well know I'm not really a bridezilla-type girl. But, at the end of the day, it's worth it because I have this to keep me company:

(sorry, but I can't help but brag on how cute he is!!!)

While we were down near Tampa for the wedding, we stayed with my awesome former roommate, Casie and her very cute dog, Lucy. Lucy was extremely excited to have visitors and she seemed to like keeping Stephen company every chance she could get! Good thing I'm not very jealous...! Hahahaha.

And here's a little memento from our travels this past weekend. Just remember, you'e welcome.
Aw, dang it...

on the road again

2007-07-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

not only is that a really great song (see above), but this post is also dedicated to Stephen, my partner in singing this song over and over again while driving... even though we don't know most of the words. (everybody with me now: awwwwwwww...)

Soooo, think real far back. Really FAR. Like back to my last lonely post. I was in Memphis, remember? Well, as soon as I got back from TN, Stephen picked me up and took me back to Lakeland (well, Plant City) to meet up with Casie, her dad and Stephen's brother, Dani, to go deep-sea fishing. Ooh. We left very early in the morning. See?

Once we got the boat in the water, we stopped en route to our "spot" to catch some bait fish. Although, it turned out to be more like stopping to let the poor, confused bait fish leap willingly onto our fishing lines. Seriously! Not to downplay the boys' skillz, but this kept happening as soon as they put the poles in the water! These lines had four little hooks on each line, so it didn't take us very long to stock up on bait!

We caught some other smaller fish and Dani had a little "heart to heart" with one to let his friends know we were coming for them. Mean, I know. ;-)

Once we got out to "the spot" (which turned out to be a shipwreck-reef where the fish like to congregate about 20 miles out) we turned our sights to the big fish. This was a fish Stephen caught pretty early, I forget what kind of fish it was though. We ate it later, so I'll just call it tasty-fish.

Yes, that's right, we strike fear into the hearts of fish everywhere.

This is the very pretty (?) grouper that Casie caught. It was about 17 inches long and they have to be 20 to keep, so he got to live to swim another day. But, not before his close-up.

After a while, Dani got something BIG on his line. Seriously, he is a really good fisherman and it was totally working him. But, of course, after a while Dani tired the fish out... and as he finally was able to reel it out of the water, we were shocked to see that it was....

a SHARK! It was just a regular looking sort of shark (grey shark? nurse shark? sharky shark?) that was about 3.5 feet long! Crazy! Well, we threw him in the ice chest with the others to join us later... for dinner! Mwa-ha-ha!!!

Then Stephen caught another BIG nice-looking grouper... Sadly, it was like 19.25 inches long- still just shy of the limit! We even tried to stretch him out to be longer... but no such luck. However, it turned out to be a tremendous stroke of luck for the grouper. He rejoined his friends in the gulf.

Aw! Isn't he cute?! I mean Stephen, of course. The fish just mostly looks scared... but then again I would look scared too, under the same circumstances!

Just to prove I was really there, here is a picture of me and Casie. And you want to know what I caught on our trip? I caught it all on film! Or, well, microchip I guess... Anyways, I fished for a little bit but did not catch anything. I was totally okay with this, however.

Now, the following Friday Stephen and I drove to Atlanta to visit with my sister. I think we took some pictures during this nice weekend, but they must be on someone else's camera. Then on Sunday after church, the three of us headed up to the mountains of Western NC for our annual family reunion. Woo hoo! It was Stephen's inaugural run, and it was so fun having him there. He played golf every morning with the guys and then we did fun stuff in the afternoon with my cousins. Stephen actually had the good idea to play croquet, and it was very intense... intensely funny, that is. Here is our official Dart family croquet photo. It's definitely one for the record books.! PS- I know I look very small, but this is just an illusion. I am standing on the downhill slope. I just wanted you all to know, I have not shrunken. Nor are my cousins giants.

Stevie and I at family dinner (all 20+ of us) at Fat Buddies. Yes, it's really called that. No, it's not named after us. :-P

The next day we went out to the stream where we used to go when we were kids. The water level was pretty low because of the drought, but we still had a fun time... even though it was raining most of the time. When I started moving stones around in the stream, Kevin asked what my objective was... and you all know the answer: dam it! (Har Har) But seriously, we spent a good 25 minutes working on our little dam (you can see the pool we were making just to the left of Stephen and me) and it would have been awesome except a storm came and brought some pretty fierce lightening and so we couldn't finish. But it was fun while it lasted.

This is Stephen as a younger, maler, nakeder, wetter version of Mary Poppins. Hahaha. But, you can tell he had definitely had his spoonful of sugar that day. :-)

After dinner on Tuesday, I needed a little consoling. Why, you ask? Let see if you can guess!

A. Because I got a really bad mullet hair cut.

B. Because Stephen is choke-holding me

C. Because I am full from eating family dinner at Granny's Chicken Palace.

D. Because no one believed me when I told them there was a place called Granny's Chicken Palace.

Well, the answer is C. Although D is often true and from this looks of this picture A is a possibility. But neither A or B are true in actuality.

For the reunion we all stay near a house my grandparents own in a lakeside community and it is pretty there. Exhibit A:

My family is pretty funny... especially Kevin. We were more than happy to make him a member when we figured out he is as nuts as the rest of us. NC was having a hot spell and Kevin was up for using any means necessary to cool off. (For anyone who can't tell, that's a fire blower/stoker thingy.... it pumps out air)

Yay for family good times! Dad and Shelly, looking sharp!

It was kinda of foggy and overcast this day, but the trees up there are just so lush (that's for you, Shelly) that they take good pictures anyway.

Then, on Thursday, Stephen and I drove back to Jacksonville where he met up with friends to ride down to West Palm Beach for his roommate John's wedding on Saturday. I went back to Lakeland to finish moving out of my apartment and then drove down on Saturday morning to meet up with everyone for the wedding festivities. It was a very lovely wedding and we all had a good time. (It was also very helpful to get wedding ideas while I was there!)

John and Katie Kananen- June 30, 2007!

Stephen was the best man, and as such had to give a toast. He did a great job, even though John is totally not paying attention. He's actually looking at the cake in this picture. Geesh, priorities people! Hahahahaha.

Cute man in a tux+ me= pretty sweet!

On Sunday, as we drove back to Jacksonville, Stephen and I stopped in the Daytona area to scout out a few potential wedding locations. Sad to say, we had no luck. You'd think for Florida we'd have more gardens... but no. Just jungle.

On my first day as a Jacksonville resident, it rained. And it has rained every day since then. BUT, on my FIRST day in Jacksonville, it also rainbowed.

One of the great things about being in Jacksonville so far is that I have been able to catch up on my sleep some. This is Olivia and she is MUCH cuter than me when she sleeps, so she can be my sleep-representative in this picture.

In another sign of good fortune, Stephen found a lady bug on my car. And he looks like he might eat it! Thankfully, he didn't. And then it flew away.

Whew! Just writing about my adventures has tired me out (TLC how do you do it???) but I hope you have enjoyed our travels. Also, I'd like to say a big shout out to two other friends who recently got married: Nick and Sherry Tobin! (Nick is one of Stephen's other roommates and they got married on the 4th of July!) Yay! Okay, TTFN!

Memphis, Tennessee

2007-06-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

Now, I am sitting in my hotel room in Memphis (here for work) and really... there are just too many good songs with Memphis in the title.
There's the one above (Help me operator, get in touch with my Marie. She's the only one who'd call me here from Memphis, TN...)
There's "Walking in Memphis"
And then there's "Maybe it was Memhpis"
Goodness, they just keep coming.
Post your favorite Memphis-related songs if you can think of any more...

And to start, I will post a picture NOT from Memphis. This bird was hanging out in the pond behind our office. I named it pinkie. I spent some time looking, and finally found it is a Roseate Spoonbill. It was crazy!

Before I left for Memphis... actually, come to think of it, this was while I was on the way to Jacksonville for the weekend right before I left... anyways, it was pretty stormy towards the end of the week. But the clouds were cool.

It's always cool when you can actually see it raining from far away. Ah, Florida summers...

NOW... on to Memphis. So, on my first day here, I was out and about walking through the downtown area (where I am staying) and I happened into the Peabody Hotel. AND I happened into it a little after 4... AND then after spending some nice time talking on the phone in the beautiful lobby, all the hoopla started to see the famous ducks parade through the lobby, into the elevator, and up to their duck palace on the roof. This is a cool picture of them at home in the fountain. Then my camera died. Boo.

My camera came back to life a few hours later on my walk home. Just enough to capture this great sunset over the mighty mississippi, so at least that's something.

Beale Street. Home of the blues and great BBQ. It's more of a hang out place though... and since I am here alone on business, I just took a self-guided walking tour and went back to my hotel.

This is BB King's place. I bet it's cool. The sign is cool. However, nowadays BB King makes me think of that diabetes commercial he did. Strange...

Okay friends! Well, I head back home tomorrow... so yay for that! Stephen is coming to get me at the airport and then we are off for a fun weekend with my roommate and his brother in Lakeland- we are going deep-sea fishing with Casie's dad. Stay tuned for pictures! I'm sure it will be an adventure!

you spin me round (like a record)

2007-06-08T12:25:00.000-05:00

a.k.a. Monster Mash 2007

Yes, things have been crazy. Yes, I have many pictures. Yes, they are probably out of order. Yes, you'll just have to deal with it. Yes, I know this is probably getting annoying. That's what you get for heckling me, TLC! Hahahaha.
Okay, I'm going to try to at least group these so they make some sense, but hopefully the pictures are fun enough to stand on their own. Enjoy!

First:
I found out a few of my friends from college would be in Florida visiting family, so I drove down to Ft. Meyers on a random Tuesday to see them and their cute little daughter, Violet. (They've already began her mentorship to be the next Vanna White- see what a fast learner she is?!?!)
: )
Yay for Bethany, Ben and Violet!

Now, here are some more pictures from NYC... Although there are still others that are on Stephen's camera that I haven't seen yet. So... maybe we'll have some more fun ones later...
In no particular order, I give you: NEW YORK!

Saturday morning we met TLC for brunch. Now, for those of you who are unaware, brunch is really just breakfast food served in the afternoon so you don't feel like you missed anything by sleeping in until 2PM. But the food was soooooo tasty that I didn't care what time it was. Gotta love NYC! and TLC! for you and me! stop rhyming and I meant it! (anybody wanna peanut?)

In the city, we were hosted by my awesome friends Will and Christian. Staying with them was super fun and we also enjoyed some hang out time with their cat, the Traveler, and their dog, Gringo. Goooooood times.

As usual, there are many, MANY construction projects going on in NYC during the summer. Stephen checked in on this one to make sure everything was up to code. And then I mugged him. Hehehe. JUST KIDDING!

On Sunday Stephen was brave enough to accompany me on one of my marathon Sunday afternoon walks through the city. Seriously, we walked for a few HOURS. However, it was pretty- pretty HOT, that is. Yeah, we brought some good ole Flawduh humidity to keep us company. In case you were wondering, this is St. Patrick's Cathedral in midtown. Very Niiice.

During our marathon Sunday stroll, I led brave Sir Stephen (or Super Supervisor Stevie, as my sister calls him) into the deep wilderness of Central Park. This picture was taken on the pretty bow bridge, we were quite pooped by this point, but still smiling...

Nice sunset view down 79th street towards the Hudson river. It was even more lovely in person... I wish I could have captured the real color on the buildings... but alas, backlighting strikes again.

Jump back to Saturday. In the afternoon, we met up with Stephen's relatives, Alex and Judy, and they were kind enough to treat us to a great evening on the town. First Stop: John's Pizza in the Village. It's home to one of the few remaining coal pizza ovens in the city. They are a big fire hazard, so building a coal oven is illegal. Good thing this one dates from 1929, cause the pizza sure is tasty!

After dinner we stopped next door to get gelato at a place called Scoop. The gelato was soooo good we forgot to take a picture. I definitely recommend it. Then, we were off to the Village Vanguard to see the Nino Josele trio play some latinish flamenco jazz. It was cool. Picture taking is not allowed so this shot (taken from the table with no flash) is the best I could do. I think it kind of lends to the ambiance, though.

Rewind back to before we met Alex and Judy on Saturday. Stephen and I went for a walk to Bryant Park and then stopped in to everyone's favorite Chipotle for a snack. Chips and Salsa faces- muy caliente!

Pretty, pretty trees in Bryant Park. Long and squiggly, just the way I like 'em!

Yay for Spring! Wait, it's still spring right? Well, yay for my birthday weekend trip to NYC and engagement celebration 2007!

Sunday night we went out in the rain to Little India for a farewell dinner with Christian and Will. We went to this restaurant that I really like called Panna II. You can see how understated and demure the decor is. Just like us. : )

Okay, now fast forward to last weekend in Lakeland. Stephen came to visit me and on Saturday we took a road trip to Center Hill to attend a family party hosted by Stephen's mom celebrating our engagement. AND Casie and Lucy came along, too! Super fun. Here Lucy demonstrates just how much personality she has. She's a good dog- even in the car.

Stevie was kind enough to drive and smile at the same time.

We took many roads that looked like this. It was a nice drive into the country... now if there was only a way to shield us from all those lovebugs... Seriously, my windshield was so gunked up at this point, this picture almost looks like an impressionist painting! If you don't happen to know what lovebugs are, count yourself lucky!

At Stephen's mom's house, Lucy demonstrates her impressive social skills. Dosen't she look like she's having a conversation with someone? Hahaha, too funny. She really does act like a person. When I move Casie and Lucy will be sorely missed... sniff... okay, no time for sad, we're nearly finished!!!

Pre-church Sunday morning after brushing our teeth in my bathroom. See? All clean. Seriously, are we a match or WHAT?! : D

And finally... we are caught up to now. Now, I am beginning the mammoth task of trying to plan a wedding. I went and visited a possible location with my mom and aunt... and this little chapel was soooo cute. Too bad it was sooooo small as well. But it makes for a nice picture.

And, I stopped in at the parent's house for a night and my mom opened up her wedding dress for me to look at. It was definitely too small for me to wear, but it was cool to see it because it had been packed away since she wore it. For a mid-70'd wedding dress, I think it's quite nice.

And here's one last picture- a close up of the lace on her dress. I like the flowers. So I will leave you all with a good representation of what fills my head these days... wedding dresses, lace, flowers.... good stuff. : )

Bad

2007-06-07T15:40:00.000-05:00

Because I'm Bad, I'm Bad -

Come On (Bad Bad - Really, Really Bad)

You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad -

You Know It (Bad Bad - Really, Really Bad)

You Know I'm Bad, I'm Bad -

Come On, You Know (Bad Bad - Really, Really Bad)

And The Whole World Has To Answer Right Now

Just To Tell You Once Again, Who's Bad...

(This blog is sponsored by Michael Jackson- not old creepy MJ, but young cool hip MJ. The very same man who could take a song with lyrics as repetitive and lame as these and make it into something pretty awesome.)

So, yes... hopefully you've gathered by now, that I would like you to know, I'm bad.

Why am I so bad?

Because I have LOTS of pictures of pretty fun and significant moments in my life... the ones really worth sharing... and I have been terrible about posting them. So, I want everyone to know, that I hereby acknowledge my badness. Isn't that like step one or something?

Anyways, here are a few great photos to try and make up a little bit for my severe lack of bloginess.

While Stephen and I were in NYC for my birthday we had some engagement photos taken (yes, all those things have happened since my last blog) by my friend Jen. She's a photographer who lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and here are a few of the fun shots she took! Yay!

I only have eyes for you

2007-05-19T10:49:00.000-05:00

Well, folks... Some of you may have known this was coming... but... (fanfare, please) Stephen and I are engaged! Crazy, I know... but good crazy. : )

So here's the story of how it went down:

I got to Jacksonville around 7:45 and Stephen had mentioned going to the beach. I was hungry but he said there were cute restaurants at the beach so we could go and get food there. I agreed and we headed out. We took this picture first because Stephen said I looked cute. : )

When we got to the beach, Stephen wanted to go to the beach first "before the daylight was gone" and I said okay... although I was thinking "but, what about dinner? I'm hungry?!" He took along a guitar and the djembe drum I gave him from Uganda because he said he wanted to have a singalong and I was okay... but I was thinking "but, what about dinner? I'M HUNGRY?!?" hehe.

So, when we got to the beach, it was pretty cold, but Stephen in his preparedness had sweaters. It was fun! Then as we were walking along, I was thinking "where are we going? why can't we just stop here???" but I kept going and then we happened along this lovely scene. I wasn't sure it was for us (cause Stephen didn't say anything and just stood there looking goofy!) until I saw the heart in the sand with the L and the S in it. Inside the picnic basket were a ton of foods that Stephen knew I liked, like a Green Goodness smoothie, pita and hummus, bruschetta, Gruyere cheese, etc... It was so fun and so tasty!

Towards the end of dinner, I decided to try and tie a Cherry stem in a knot in my mouth (I used to be able do it easily) and Stephen was cracking on me that it was taking me so long... I was so certain I could do it eventually, that I made him promise he would give me a present when I accomplished my silly feat. So after dinner, he got out his guitar and sang me a song and tried to pass that off as his present... and then he was like "no, no... I have another present for you" and he made this big production and took out a box. I was pretty keyed up, until he shook the box and it rattled. And in my head I was thinking, "WHAT?!?!?!?!" Then he made this big production of opening it to reveal: a pair of my earrings that I had left at my parent's house a few weeks ago. Needless to say I was a bit letdown. We make a lot of jokes about re-gifting (especially things like when Stephen leaves his toothpaste at my house and tells me it was a present) but this was too much! You can totally tell in the picture that I was less than impressed, but trying to be nice about it. Hahaha.

Then after a few minutes, he got kinda quiet and then told me he had one more present for me. At this point, I started to catch on. : ) He stood me up, and knelt down and told me he loved me and asked if I would be his wife. And I said yes. Actually, I think my words were "you know I will!" Hehehe. Hooray! I was relieved that my earrings were just a fake and that we were getting engaged. After I said yes, he put the ring on my finger and it fit just perfectly!

So, here are some pictures of the ring. It was hard to get ones that came out clear... I don't really know why, but these ones are the best of what we have right now. It's a beautiful ring, Stephen did a great job!

In addition to the center stone there are little diamonds in the top of the band as well as on the sides. I tell you what, for a low-key kinda girl, I am blinged OUT! : D

But more importantly, I am going to marry an awesome man. God is pretty good. I'll keep yall updated as we get more planning stuff decided. But I wanted to share the news with my dot.comrades. (as awesome as I think that term is, I can't take credit... I got it from TLC and she got it from one of her friends...) Anyways, thanks for celebrating with us!

the best day

2007-05-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

Stephen came to visit me this past weekend and we had the most fun day on Saturday! After a awesomeness-trifecta of a morning filled with Frisbee, taco bell, and chillin by the pool, we headed on down to Tampa for an adventure! We decided it would be an adventure because we didn't really have plans, and let me tell you it was just about the most fun adventure I've had! Good times with a great man! : )

Here is our before shot, taken in the car as we head off to see what we can find. Yay!

Our final destination was Raymond James Stadium (for reasons that will be explained later) and we needed to get food. So, after a bit of searching, we ended up here. Now, for those of you who may not be aware, Sweet Bay supermarkets are the re-vamped, better-looking version of what was formerly Kash-n-Karry. Neither of us had ever been in a Sweet Bay, so it fit with our adventure-themed evening...

The supermarket was actually quite fun, and we enjoyed picking out all kinds of tasty treats. We meant to have a picnic somewhere en route to the stadium, but because of traffic, we went straight to the stadium and had an AWESOME tailgate party in the back of my car. CAR PICNIC!

Our adventure took a turn towards the crazy when we realized we forgot to get a corkscrew! good thing my boyfriend can open wine bottles with his teeth! Hahahaha. Actually, it was good that cork was one of those plastic ones or I'm sure we would've have a bottle full of cork pieces!

Stephen worked on the bottle with a car key, his teeth (see above) and the screw for the front tire of my bicycle that happened to be in my car. It took some time, and a bit of sticktoitiveness, but with only a few chips in the bottle...

Stephen did it!!! He opened a wine bottle without a corkscrew. I was impressed, and it was definitely an adventure! Woo hoo!

Then we partook of our feast. And we were very refined. OH yes.

More refined elegance, right here. Cleopatra-style. : )

Then we went into the stadium to enjoy the lovely sounds of the Florida Orchestra and the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay (the choir I sing with). They were performing at a private event in the Stadium for the friends and family of the Raymond James financial group. Because of my affiliation with the choir, we were able to get in free!

We sat on the grass in the very front and it was fun! Although we have been having a lot of trouble with smoke these days (because of all the fires) it wasn't too smelly and the temperature actually cooled off really nicely. Here is a look at everyone behind us, so you won't think this is someone's backyard. With a really nice lawn.

Yeah, we're cute and we know it. Hehehehe. We had a really nice time!

Here is a look at the pretty jumbotron... ooooooh....

After it got dark, we looked up at the stars and saw... well, not much. Because of the smoke and smog, there weren't really any visible stars... except this one. Stephen was pretty sure it was a planet and not even a star, but I chose to call it a star so we could joke about our adventure as we traveled to the Symphony Under the StaR.

I don't know what got us started doing this, but on our way out of the stadium we decided to have a "see how long you can walk with your water bottle on your head" competition. Needless to say, I employed my African skillz and won easily. Hahaha. The fun part was that all the people walking and driving by thought it was really funny and were cheering us on and laughing and honking their horns trying to make us drop the bottles. Seriously funny.

All in all, it was a spectacular day. I am one lucky woman, fo sho!

i'm not dead

2007-05-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

So, the title for this post definitely refers to my little friend here. I saw this gator for the first time Sunday as he was floating near the shore of our lake as I walked to the pool. Then, this morning I noticed on my way to work that he had climbed on the old fountain base that the birds usually hang out on- and to my surprise he was still there when I came home! Good thing reptiles don't get sunburned! Special thanks goes to TLC for making me go and take a picture of him... he's about 4 feet long and I was actually kinda worried he might have died or something because he had been there all day, but about 90 minutes after I took this photo, I passed by again and he was gone. Since I took all the time to post this, I'm including some other fun pictures as well!

My sweet Stephen brought me flowers when he came to collect me at the airport upon my return from Uganda. They are the first flowers he has given me, and they are STILL alive more than one week later. Yay. : )

This past weekend, Stephen and I had dinner with my life-long friend Sam, and her husband Chris and daughter Emily. Good times. Seriously, this chick is the cutest. kid. ever. (Emily, not me! hehehe.)

And if I do say so... Seriously, this fella is the cutest. man. ever. (I think it's really funny that Emily, even at the tender age of two, is distracted by a good sale.) Hahahaha.

Okay, well I hope you are all well! And just in case you are wondering, Mr. Gator would like to let everyone know: "I'm not dead." (and I must add, he only says that to lure you over so he can bite your pinkie off later... so watch out!)

true colors

2007-05-04T13:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, so these pictures aren't necessarily representative of everything we did, and they definitely aren't the last you'll see. But, these are the photos that I was especially proud of from a photographic standpoint... or at least I thought they were interesting... or I just liked to look at them- hey, there's a monkey! Now, I don't claim to be a photography genius- heck, I didn't even get to take the class in college like my sister did!- but I do like to take pictures. And occasionally I find few I really like. I think these are not only good photos, but also capture Uganda and our experiences in a true light. Enjoy!

TLC likes it when I put the captions on top, so here I go:

Cool dead tree. Pretty blue sky.

Our second night in town we lost power. Normally this is not so bad, except that we had lost water earlier that day. So this lovely picture is in tribute to my new best friend: the gas lantern. We used them (and a few candles) to provide light as we took bucket baths and washed each other's hair in said bucket. Good times.

Pretty sunrise. I took this picture out of our bedroom window. I think these colors lasted maybe 5 minutes. When I looked back again, it was like it had never been there at all. So, I was really glad to have capture it on film... er, microchip.

This is a jackfruit tree. Yes, it really grows like that. No, I don't think it knows how ridiculous it looks. It is too busy being chased by Ugandans everywhere who are seriously devoted to eating its supersweet fruit. PS- the jackfruit in this picture was at least as long as my forearm.

When we arrived in Jinja to visit Auntie Holly, we noticed immediately how quiet it was compared to Kampala and her suburbs. We did a lot of walking... mainly cause there was no one else around to transport us.

Except when we found boda-bodas (motorcycle or bicycle taxis). It was difficult to find enough boda-bodas for 5 of us though! Here Jamie is demonstrating how to ride- see how happy she looks! Can you imagine this was only her first time! By the look on her face, you can be sure it was not her last. : )

I think the best way to enjoy the wonderful day is on the back of a boda. Please keep in mind I took these pictures while riding on the back of one myself. I love riding on them because it is the only time you have air conditioning when you are in Uganda! Ugandan ladies (who almost always wear skirts) ride side-saddle (see Holly below for perfect Muganda imitation). Actually, Holly is probably now more Muganda than she is Muzungu (white person).

This is us (well, not me but everyone else) at Bujagali Falls. I know, I know... you want to see the falls. But I took this picture with my new incognito method (I turned off the sound and flash and I just hold it nonchalantly and take pictures while no one is paying attention!) and it came out cool! And yes, Jamie is from Canada.

Here are my toes and the blazing sun in the Nile.

Beautiful hibiscus. I so like flowers.

Okay, so this picture is nothing special to look at EXCEPT that it proves we saw a monkey. Do you see him???

Noah at the Amani baby cottage in Jinja (where Holly now works).

Viani is just the latest in a long line of victims of my new incognito picture-taking method!

Yes, but we all have red feet.

Okay, so her aim is not the best... but that's really not a bad throw for a little girl who has probably never thrown a Frisbee before. We enjoyed our playtime with the newest African Children's Choir- #30!!! They just began training the day before we came home.

I think this little girl's name is Enid. She was super cute and affectionate. I tell you what, the are few things better than a cute kid holding your hand.

The END! I hope you enjoyed my somewhat random and somewhat not photojournal. I will post more pictures later... but I hope this will hold you who have been waiting over until I get some more time. Now, I am off to Deland to hang with family and celebrate Stephen's graduation! Woo hoo!!!

long ago and far away

2007-04-22T07:56:00.000-05:00

okay, so not long ago... (the pictures are only from yesterday...) but i am definitly far away...
anyways, here are some fun pictures!

reunion at the airport!

nice lunch at nando's... i finally had my beloved samosas!

Looking out of the school windows... super cute kids!

Mark was very sick with Malaria in Febraury... but Praise God now he is better!

Kids from choir #24 ready for the big football match!

This is Amos Emenu, from choir #24, we are so proud of him! He went straight to the senior boy's team!

Derick and some other boys watching the game African style... : )

Solange and Gratienne cheering on the sidelines!

Ugandans have very strong necks. Seriously!!!

Okay, hopefully I will be able to post some more pictures in a few days!

leaving on a jet plane...

2007-04-19T09:48:00.000-05:00

actually, I'll be leaving on several jet planes in just a few hours: Orlando to Detroit to Amersterdam to Entebbe, Uganda! Woo Hoo! i'll be gone for 10 days to visit these people:

I'll be traveling (once I reach Amsterdam) with three former Aunties (such as myself)- Jamie (center) and Kelly (right) and we will get to visit with Florence (back) while we are in Uganda! Also, another Auntie (who I don't have a picture of), Melissa, will be making the trip as well! How very exciting! I must say, I am super excited to be an auntie again! Prepare your self for a very large number of awesome pictures!!! Woo hoo! I heart UGANDA!

Oh yeah, and hopefully there will be none of this once we get there! Hahaha, no.... this only happens ON TOUR. good times. : )

dem bones, dem bones... (Gonna Rise Again)

2007-04-06T08:45:00.001-05:00

So last night as I was flipping through the channels trying to find MTV to watch a show TLC told me about (which I never found btw) I got distracted by Anderson Cooper. Now, normally news show people do not appeal to me AT ALL, but this time something caught my eye before I could move on. Right there, on the side of the screen, was a big fancy logo with the title of his current discussion series: "What is a Christian?" "HOLY COW!" I thought. Is this really on CNN? And then my second thought, "dear goodness, I hope they don't make us look like idiots." So I listened for a little while and made sure to look up the transcripts for the whole series later. Here is a link to the info page:

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0612/14/acd.02.html

Now, I haven't read everything on the transcript- nor do I anticipate agreeing with every view presented. However, I did get a chance to read this article (copied below) which was excellent. I'm even thinking of reading this guy's book. So, for once, and I really can't believe I'm about to type this, I was encouraged by something on CNN. (Many of you might have been previously subjected to one of my tirades against the American news media and all it's deception.) So, in the spirit of equal opportunity, I hope this post will give me a chance to prove that, at least as far as CNN is concerned, I don't hate the player, I just hate the game. Hahahaha. Enjoy!

By Dr. Francis Collins
Special to CNN

Editor's note: Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., is the director of the Human Genome Project. His most recent book is "The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief."

ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- I am a scientist and a believer, and I find no conflict between those world views.

As the director of the Human Genome Project, I have led a consortium of scientists to read out the 3.1 billion letters of the human genome, our own DNA instruction book. As a believer, I see DNA, the information molecule of all living things, as God's language, and the elegance and complexity of our own bodies and the rest of nature as a reflection of God's plan.

I did not always embrace these perspectives. As a graduate student in physical chemistry in the 1970s, I was an atheist, finding no reason to postulate the existence of any truths outside of mathematics, physics and chemistry. But then I went to medical school, and encountered life and death issues at the bedsides of my patients. Challenged by one of those patients, who asked "What do you believe, doctor?", I began searching for answers.

I had to admit that the science I loved so much was powerless to answer questions such as "What is the meaning of life?" "Why am I here?" "Why does mathematics work, anyway?" "If the universe had a beginning, who created it?" "Why are the physical constants in the universe so finely tuned to allow the possibility of complex life forms?" "Why do humans have a moral sense?" "What happens after we die?"
(Watch Francis Collins discuss how he came to believe in God )

I had always assumed that faith was based on purely emotional and irrational arguments, and was astounded to discover, initially in the writings of the Oxford scholar C.S. Lewis and subsequently from many other sources, that one could build a very strong case for the plausibility of the existence of God on purely rational grounds. My earlier atheist's assertion that "I know there is no God" emerged as the least defensible. As the British writer G.K. Chesterton famously remarked, "Atheism is the most daring of all dogmas, for it is the assertion of a universal negative."

But reason alone cannot prove the existence of God. Faith is reason plus revelation, and the revelation part requires one to think with the spirit as well as with the mind. You have to hear the music, not just read the notes on the page. Ultimately, a leap of faith is required.
For me, that leap came in my 27th year, after a search to learn more about God's character led me to the person of Jesus Christ. Here was a person with remarkably strong historical evidence of his life, who made astounding statements about loving your neighbor, and whose claims about being God's son seemed to demand a decision about whether he was deluded or the real thing. After resisting for nearly two years, I found it impossible to go on living in such a state of uncertainty, and I became a follower of Jesus.

So, some have asked, doesn't your brain explode? Can you both pursue an understanding of how life works using the tools of genetics and molecular biology, and worship a creator God? Aren't evolution and faith in God incompatible? Can a scientist believe in miracles like the resurrection?
Actually, I find no conflict here, and neither apparently do the 40 percent of working scientists who claim to be believers. Yes, evolution by descent from a common ancestor is clearly true. If there was any lingering doubt about the evidence from the fossil record, the study of DNA provides the strongest possible proof of our relatedness to all other living things.

But why couldn't this be God's plan for creation? True, this is incompatible with an ultra-literal interpretation of Genesis, but long before Darwin, there were many thoughtful interpreters like St. Augustine, who found it impossible to be exactly sure what the meaning of that amazing creation story was supposed to be. So attaching oneself to such literal interpretations in the face of compelling scientific evidence pointing to the ancient age of Earth and the relatedness of living things by evolution seems neither wise nor necessary for the believer.

I have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God's majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.

AND- in the spirit of Christians and their namesake, Christ and Easter and prettiness... I'll leave you with these two fun things:

1. a fun game for wikipedia-
click "random article" (on the left side bar) and then you have 5 clicks to get to Jesus Christ. It's pretty fun! (Oh yes, and clicks that redirect you to another section of the same article don't count.) But anyways, it's fun to think that pretty much everything can be brought back to JC in 5 or less moves- take that Kevin Bacon!

2. Easter Lilies, just for you. Happy EASTER!

don't you think?

2007-04-03T14:06:00.000-05:00

have you ever noticed that jelly beans are like candy grapes?

accentuate the postive

2007-03-25T20:46:00.000-05:00

Top three things that are prettier than my sunburn:

Lucy curls up on my bed when I am getting ready for work in the morning. She looks sad because she knows I'm about to leave...

JP suns himself (herself...?) on the rock under the UV lamp... this was such a cute little sunbathing pose I HAD to take a picture. Does my turtle have personality, or what?

I drove up to Jacksonville to surpirse Stephen this weekend and we had a lot of fun! This is us after playing a little frisbee on the beach! Good times! :-)

So... although I am somewhat uncomfortable in my present condition (see below) these cute pictures and fun memories help to make me feel much better!

don't be stupid (like me)

2007-03-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

This is a public service announcement: Wear sunscreen.

(Darn you freakishly strong Florida sunshine!!!)

I bet I'm gonna peel.... gr....

just one of those things

2007-03-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

WOW! Has it really been TWO WEEKS since I posted anything? Goodness... I have been neglecting my blog. I do have some nice things to share for this post, though- a few last pretty pictures from Miami and some other things that are nice to look at. I hope you enjoy them, I know I have!!!

This first picture was taken when I was sitting in my car in Tampa. Bethany saw the picture later and asked, "why did you take a picture of a leaf on an antenna?" and until that moment I hadn't thought it was weird. Hehe. I guess I just thought it looked cool. I especially like the way that the shadow of the little nobby bit falls on the center leaf. And the colors. Mmmmm, colors.

In my head the title of this picture is "Wish I was There". I've never been sailing but doesn't it seem really exciting and romantic and glamorous? I went sailing in Denmark once, but it was with a sailing club for youth and they all knew what they were doing and the leader just kept running around shouting things in Danish. So I just tried to stay out of the way and in the boat. Maybe next time it will be in English.

I was down at the beach hanging out by myself and just thinking and reading and praying and then I thought I should try to take a picture... you know... to prove I've actually been to South Beach and all. This one is the best I could do with only an arms length. If I look kind of sleepy it's because I was. : )

As I laid there on my towel in the late afternoon, the sky looked sooo pretty. It was like a painting. Or maybe it was so pretty, many people have tried to paint skies like that one so paintings look like this sky. If I could paint better, I would paint this sky for sure.

Then in the evening, Bethany and I went out for one last meal on the fun and funky strip that is Collins Ave. We returned to our favorite "cafe bar restaraunt" and found it SHOULD have been called "hot waiters from around the world". Seriously, with guys that cute they should advertise more! Hahaha. I think our waiter was Israeli and our busboy was Italian. Good times.

Then we decided to take a walk and enjoy some other kinds of scenery... I wish there was a better way to show you what Miami Beach is like at night (I recommend going out early and coming home before the skeeze-fest begins... it's much prettier that way). This is a picture of a VERY cool art deco hotel called the Richmond. So we walked for a good long while to finish off our lovely time in South Beach!

Now, after all that prettiness you may not be able to handle any more... BUT... I have saved the best for last. In the past month or so I have met and began dating this wonderful man named Stephen Keller. Hooray for that! So... I will leave you with a picture of the two of us. Yay! (Oh yes, and I know... I don't wear glasses... but these are my fake ones for when I need to be incognito. Besides, Stephen is so cute in his glasses, I couldn't let him out-cute me! Hahahaha.)

Welcome to Miami (Buenvenidos a Miami)

2007-03-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

Hello! Finally, here come the pictures from Miami Beach! So, when we reached the hotel sadly it was getting dark already. These few pictures don't quite do it justice, but this is the view from our room door. It's really cool because the hallways all open into a courtyard and the doors are always open because it's the same temperature inside as out!

Our room has a little kitchenette area, and just in case you find that unsightly, it also has beaded curtains! Hahaha. Bethany is modeling them well.

In the front hallway, there is a fish tank. It is neat. It has clown fish (nemo).

Also, as you might expect, there are palm trees EVERYWHERE. This makes me think of my friend, Tara Leigh. All she ever wanted when she was small was for her parents to buy her a palm tree. I wonder if this one's for sale....?

After checking in and getting settled, we headed out down Collins Ave. for some dinner and excitement. We found this cool streetside eatery that seemed to be called "Restaurant Bar Cafe" Apart from its name, it was very trendy and cool... But then again, the best restaurants are the ones with no names, right? Anyways, this is me trying to look cool and relaxed and fit in in South Beach.

Here is another cool picture of the place we ate. It was hard to really capture how beautiful it was... just this slinky, warm light spilling all over the side walks... A-mazing.

Then we went on down to the beach! Woo Hoo! It was so awesome, even in the dark the sand was white and the sea was this luminous turquoise. In Greece, our wonderful guide named Lula kept saying "tur-kwahs" and I think I like that pronunciation better! Either way, it was a beautiful night and we wasted little time getting down to the water! (PS- guess which toes are mine... it shouldn't be too hard if you have ever seen my feet or are aware of my tendency towards unpainted nails...)

Okay, so I don't so much care about fancy cars. I mean, the car I would get if I could have anything is an old IH Scout or an original Ford Bronco. However, I wanted to give you an authentic picture of South Beach. Around 11, all these super expensive cars start turning up all over the place- it's crazy, the traffic is the worse in the middle of the night than in the day! But anyway, this one is a ferrari, I think...

So, since most of the day time I am inside at our lovely booth, I will leave you with a picture of Miami Beach the way I usually see it: dark. However, it is lovely- in day or night- and very romantic at times. Definitely bring your sweetheart here if you get the chance... if you have a sweetheart, that is. If not, bring yourself and some friends! Oh yeah, and that white circle light next to the center light pole is the moon rising over the water, just so you can imagine yourself here! Adios!

Jehovah Jireh, my Provider (Ode to Amanda)

2007-03-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

well folks, here I am down in South Beach (Miami)... and before I get started with my usual silliness, I must pay tribute to the person who has made this blog possible. And to think, I hadn't even met her an hour ago. But, let me start at the beginning...

So, I drove my workmate (Bethany), an associate (Kate), and myself from Lakeland to here today. And I must say, this day has seemed to be the pinnacle of my recent trend towards airheadedness. I really don't know what's come over me lately, although I have an idea. Anyways, after a very illogical route out of town, turning around because I thought we had missed our turn- only to have to re-turn around when it was discovered we hadn't, and then freaking everyone out by thinking I had left my company credit card in Ruby Tuesdays, I was feeling glad to be in this very romantic and idyllic place with everything seemly in order for tomorrow. After dinner I had come back to my room to download my pictures and blog away, when I realized that my computer was nearly out of battery and I had left my power cord (presumably) in my office at work. Now, the thought of this made me very sad. So I walked down to the garage where my car is very expensively boarded for the evening and asked the valet to bring it back so I could look for my power cord. Not there. So then I asked the valet where to go to try and buy another one. He tells me Lincoln street and that the stores should still be open (although it is 10:30). Somehow, this does not seem strange here. I hop in my car and drive down to Lincoln only to find many stores open, but not the ones that sell electronics. At this point I am getting very sad and mad at myself. I drive around a little more hoping to find one shining beacon of electronics-selling glory. Then I see radio shak- lit up like the sun. Hooray, I think! I begin to frantically look for a place to park my car and finally find one around the block. I proceed to walk down to radio shak (and sometimes run). Not open. Stupid tease. I am even more sad/mad. boo. Then I decide to walk a little further in that same direction. Just to walk, I guess, because at this point it doesn't look like I'll be spending any time on my computer tonight. I am walking and feeling frumpy from my long drive and gross next to the fabulousness of everyone passing me. I pass 3 girls talking about dancing. About 10 steps past them I realize that one of them was my friend Stephanie Zungre from NYC. I hear her voice. I turn around. Stare. Commence walking after them. Listening, trying to see her face to be sure. Then I see her purse and remember it from the city. Stephanie? I meekly call. OH. MY. GOSH! she says. And it's her. And we talk. And I actually had met one of the other 2 girls before on my first night in NYC- we talked about Uganda that night! weird. So they ask me what I'm doing. I tell them about the cord disaster and lo, and behold, the other girl (AMANDA!!!) says a little while later: I have a Toshiba. Do you just need to borrow it and charge your battery? Yes, says I. So, sweet, ballet-girl Amanda, who I literally just met in the street offers to hop in my car and have me drop her at her apartment so she can loan me her charger. I will take it back tomorrow morning. After we exchange cell numbers, she reaches to shut the door and says "God bless you". As I now sit happily at my trusty computer, at least for this night anyway, it is very easy to see how He sooo HAS. Goodnight all! Photos are coming soon!

dancing with the moonlit knight

2007-02-24T22:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I don't know this song. Apparently it's by "Genesis" and the lyrics seem a tad on the out there side... BUT I liked the title. So... here is the blog from today at the Renaissance Fair in Tampa. I went with some people from church and we had fun. Shane, Ashley and Jorden were pretty fired up to be riding in my backseat. This is right before Jorden made Ashley switch with her to keep Shane and Ashley from fighting with each other the whole way there. Hahaha! Thanks, Jorden!

Okay, so when we arrived the first thing we did was go see the animals. There were lots of fun creatures, including (but not limited to) ducks, geese, pigs, cows, goats, sheep, camels, and an elephant. But the cutest BY FAR is the llama pictured below. Seriously, this was a super funny llama. I think if llamas were cognizant, they would be the awkward, gangly guy from your gym class who keeps cracking you up behind the teacher's back.

Now, if you are thinking that this is a picture of a random guy's butt, you are correct. Hahaha. There were a few (maybe mistakenly) brave guys wandering around the fair in for real tights. The funniest was the HUGE black dude who was very fit but his legs (thighs) were massive so it was a little overwhelming. Hahaha. Like a car wreck... you just couldn't look away!

Alan and Shane were able to take out their manly aggression on each other with a handy sword fight. I thought about photoshopping out the balloons... maybe that will make a nice present for them later. The duel was won by popping your opponent's balloon and the first match was won by Shane, the second by Alan. I think it was very smart that they stopped there. We probably would have never heard the end of it if one of them actually won.

Any of you who know me well will understand my excitement in this next picture. Camels have always held a special place in my heart and I got to ride one today! Woo hoo! Oh, and unfortunately, this is the only picture of me and my peasant costume because my camera battery died later. So anyways, this was it!

Probably the highlight of our day was the 2+ times we came to see the Mud Skippers' Show. It's three guys who do Shakespeare plays in a crazy, funny, quasi-improv comedy way. WITH A MUD PIT. Seriously, watching them beat each other with wiffle ball bats and fall into that mud pit NEVER got old. That and they were seriously funny. Yay!

There was an awesome gypsy band playing. I think they played for the whole time we were there (like 5+ hours) and I was surprised they weren't exhausted. But they were really good. Kinda like mellow Gypsy Kings meets 70's folk. And this guy was just rad. I mean, c'mon... look at him! He reminded me of Johnny Depp in Chocolat. : )

Then we watched a full-combat chess game. It was pretty cool. There was a huge chess board painted on the grass, and the captains/leaders of each team would call moves and whenever a piece was to be captured, they would fight. Like full-on awesome swordplay and WWE wrestling style fight. It was really fun! The pirate was on our team and the Scotsman was on the other team. I think we lost this match... oh well. It was cool either way.

This guy was in the chess game and several other things... He was the coolest looking guy there. He was a pirate and he also had a GREAT accent. Kind of englishy-piratey. A lot of the people at the Ren Fair used accents- many of them poorly- but it still made for some good times.

At the end of the chess game everyone just started brawling... so technically no one won... but it was fun to watch everyone just starting going crazy. Even the women would fight these big dudes and... okay, so most of it was scripted, I'm sure, but it was still enjoyable to watch!

Then we went over to the jousting. Guys on horses. With real armour. And they fought for a while with long swords....

... and then they jumped off their horses and started punching each other in the dirt. It was pretty funny. Then they got back on their horses and started jousting for real.

The theme of this weekend's fair (it goes for 6 weeks or so) was "highland fling" so there were lots of Scots around. And this wee pipe and drum band. Yay for bagpipes.

Okay, so my camera died shortly after taking this picture, but we didn't do a whole lot of things after this, so at least that's good. One thing that was really cool was this glass blowing exhibit. It was totally great. The pieces this artisan made were sooooo cool. I really wanted one, but of course it was pretty expensive. It was beautiful though... all these beautiful shapes and colors... it reminded me of Dale Chihuly. Super neat. Then we went back to watch the mudskippers one last time. Dude, mud doesn't get old. It just doesn't! : ) Then we went home. I was pretty tired and more sunburned than I thought, but we had a lot of fun!

Farewell, fair ladies and fine sirs!

i've got my love to keep me warm

2007-02-23T16:27:00.000-05:00

*please note that this post's song title is in reference to the Irving Berlin song... not to be confused with "love to keep you warm" by whitesnake. haha! just so you know (and knowing is half the battle)!

Anyways, I made this the other day for my friend, TLC in photoshop (oh how i love thee!) and I just really like it and thought it deserved a public forum. Backstory: Tara Leigh is completely infatuated with the Chrysler Building in Manhattan. Now, I have never met someone who loves a building before, but I've never met a professional cricket player either, so who's to say it's impossible? And, when I say "love" I am not exaggerating. If it is humanly possible to love a building, TLC loves CB (as I've dubbed him): She gets excited when she glimpses him through the crowded skyline and misses him when she's away. This is a devoted woman. So I though it only fitting that she receive a little reciprocity from her beloved. Hehehe. Enjoy!

for the beauty of the earth

2007-02-19T10:51:00.000-05:00

i love that song. it's so great. it also always reminds me of little women which, in turn, reminds me of the best compliment i have ever received to date. or at least my favorite. my sister's roommate (a very intelligent and well-read young lady) once rather excitedly told me that i was "sooo jo" from 'little women'. i consider that a truly complimentary remark. anyways, as for my post; i was out walking the other evening and it was such a beautiful sunset. sadly, i was without my trusty camera, so my cheese-ball camera-phone did its best. enjoy!

for the longest time

2007-02-17T15:19:00.000-05:00

okay, so this post is actually about something that happened a MONTH ago, but oh well. SO, Casie and Lucy and I went to the Annual Brooksville Raid Festival, which commemorates a battle/skirmish/whatever that happened there during the non-civil War. (Read previous post about why the War wasn't technically a Civil War). Fun times! PS- Indian fry bread is AWESOME!

Okay, this is me and Lucy in my car. Don't worry, we were stopped when I took this!

Casie would like everyone to know that our trip was sponsored by Merita sweet sixteen powdered-sugar doughnuts.

So the festival part is full of vendors who make crafts and tasty food like home-made root beer and Indian fry bread. This is guy had a blacksmith exhibit.

The participants in the Raid stay in camps like the soldiers would have back then. Complete with little canvas tents and camp fire cooking. First we toured the Union camp.

And you'll never guess who we ran into there- our old friend Abe Lincoln! haha. Mary Todd looked kinda grumpy. Maybe war's not really her thing... "Abe, why do we always have to go to your things... what about my knitting circle? geesh..."

This guy was resting up before the big battle.

Next we moved it on over to the Confederacy Camp. It was definitely much more populated and festive. The food looked better, they had more stuff, AND the people seemed to be having a big party.

Yep, definitely the South:

I didn't see any wagons at the Union Camp... I'm just sayin is all...

While we were over there, the Confederates had a little "Inspection" of the new troops.

Let the battle begin! It actually is quite a slow process, because all the troops have to move around the battle field and do all this strategic maneuvering. It really makes it evident how much war has changed. Eventually guys on horses start riding around. This is them:

They have cannons. And they were LOUD. And sometimes they would make smoke rings that floated up in the sky for a long time. It was cool. At times fire even shot out!

This picture was taken towards the end of the battle. You can see some of the guys laying down. Sometimes they would "die" and then after a while get back up and keep fighting. Towards the end though, they mostly stayed dead. The confederate party was pretty much over.

All in all, it was a lot of fun! I definitely recommend it, especially on a day as pretty as we had. I mean, its mostly cool for the educational value, since you already know how it ends. But it is neat to see everyone all dressed up in costume and everything. Maybe next year Casie and I will get some big ol' hoop skirts and bonnets and try our luck as Southern Belles. Maybe. : )

just the two of us

2007-02-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

soo.... yeah, i know that title is totally cheesy, but in the spirit of V-day i wanted to post a picture of me cuddling with someone and its pretty creepy to think of cuddling with a 3-inch turtle. soo... here's me and lucy! hahaha. actually, this is really a picture of me pestering lucy and her wishing i would leave her alone -you can soo tell by her face! haha, oh well!
Happy Valentine's Day!

we didn't start the fire

2007-02-10T22:59:00.000-05:00

hello! first i would like to start with a somewhat late but still funny picture of Ashley and Jorden at the Southside super bowl party. They were very enthusiastic Colts fans for the evening.

okay, so back to the last few days: here's my title picture. while up in Deland for the evening, TLC and i were about to enter Mainstreet grill when we spied a car on fire. ON FIRE, on fire. it must have just caught up suddenly because we didn't hear any explosion. but we got to watch the tires explode and the firemen come and put it out. it was very exciting!

TLC was about to embark on her fun cruise and she wanted to get a pedicure in preparation. Originally i was just going to sit with her for moral support, but darn it if i didn't get suckered into getting one. it was nice and although i'm not really one for painting my toenails... they do look kinda pretty....

So, with all our exciting comings and goings, Tara leigh and I never really took any pictures together (we were too busy with pretty toes and flaming vehicles, I guess). So in the morning when she left we took this one. We are sporting no makeup and our new hats. Sweet!

all the small things

2007-02-08T15:40:00.000-05:00

well, in comparison to my globe-trotting adventures of late, this past week has been small. however, it has been nice and not without its lovely moments. so which do i like better? amazing but drama-filled or somewhat uneventful with occasional lovely moments? hmmm.... hard to decide. maybe its best to save that for another blog.
here are a few last minute pictures- most of these i ganked from other people (who should at least get a shout-out: Maresi! TLC! Enuma!)
BUT, stayed tuned for upcoming better-late-than-never pictures of my trip 3+ weeks ago (pre-Greece) to the Annual Brooksville Raid Civil War Battle Re-enactment! (P.S. did you know that most Southern historians don't really like the term "civil war" being used because they say it was a war between 2 countries since the South had seceded? i didn't know... and i think that's a pretty good point, but if we don't call it that, what then? and DON'T say "the war of northern agression" haha!

This sign says it all. just. too. perfect. (let's just say kavala was much nicer...)

pretty picture of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth and the great, but still unidentified tree.

cutest. thing. ever. and total. period. over-use. (but this is Zach, one of the cute Whitler boys in our group. AND this picture was taken in the shop of our new friend, Stratos. (It's in Plaka market and called "byzantium" for anyone going to Athens...)

What a nerd! But on the up side, Tara Leigh/ is here/ to visit me! We shall see/ how merry/ we can be! (Sorry, once I start rhyming...sheesh!) But this was taken in downtown Lakeland. TLC liked this butterfly (there are many) because it had real shoes on! And she likes me even though I usually don't have shoes on! : )

There's no place like home

2007-02-02T12:34:00.000-05:00

Okay, friends. Sorry for the delay, things have been a little hectic and all the stress and exhaustion of travelling finally caught up with me! It shocks me to admit it, but I think I have finally learned the joys of not being a hobo. I will probably always love to travel, but now I see just how much I miss things when I am away... like my bed... and my room... and my big closet... Anyways, here are some more fun pictures from Greece. They are not necessarily in the right order or representative of all that we did (we did a LOT!) but they are ones that I like and hope you will too. Opa!

Greek dancers (no kidding!) from the Taverna we ate at in Athens. They were so fun. Sadly, they did not break plates ("its too expensive") and I think Devon was the only person saying "Opa!"

After leaving Athens and Corinth we did a lot of driving to see Thessaloniki, Philippi, etc. I really don't remember where along the way this was, but it is fairly representative of the overall beauty of Greece. P.S- the trees in the foreground are olive trees!

This was taken from my bus window in Thessaloniki when we rolled into town. It was a rainy afternoon and this little Greek man was just so iconic walking along the sea with his hat and overcoat and cane...

This is a beautiful new chapel that was built next to the site where Lydia, the first Christian convert in Europe was baptized. Okay, so I amped up the color a bit with my best friend photoshop, but I just wanted to give you small taste of what a beautiful day it was.

See if you can click on this picture and see it bigger- it is definitely worth it. This was also taken from the bus as we drove along miles and miles of the most beautiful coastline I have ever seen. I think there should be a special color of blue called "Aegean" just to try to do it justice.

Our last night in Greece (spent back in Athens) we went shopping at the Plaka market and then spent a beautiful evening at a taverna next to the Acropolis. As we walked back to catch the metro through the mostly deserted cobblestone streets it all seemed so romantic... well romantic without the man... so just ro-tic, really. But anyways, i think this shot is very "cafe terrace at night".

I actually took this picture on the way to the taverna when no one could remember how to get there. We were wandering around and turned a corner and voila! right in our faces was more ruins, more history, more past. Its funny how it is all jumbled together. I have no idea where this was, but it was beautiful and fitting for the modern Ancient city. It really puts it in perspective how young America is as a country. Anyways, if you want to see the complete pictures, hopefully I will have them on photobucket eventually. As for now, Kalinikta! (Goodnight!)

head over feet

2007-02-01T11:16:00.000-05:00

Soooo... if you go back a post or two you will see a very excited blurb about my feet in comparison to the feet of statues I saw throughout Greece. Don't worry, its about to get exponentially more exciting!!! So, at the encouragement of a friend (thanks, TLC!) I decided to look into the history of my unusually shaped feet (see picture below for evidence). Now, I happen to know that this condition is called "Morton's Toe" after the physician who researched and diagnosed "Morton's Neuroma" (a meditarsal nerve disorder I also have). So, naturally I went to my favorite online resource, Wikipedia, and LOOK what I FOUND!!!!

"...This shape has also been called Greek foot (as opposed to the Egyptian foot, where the great toe is longer). It was an idealised form in Greek sculpture, and this persisted as an aesthetic standard through Roman and Renaissance periods and later (the Statue of Liberty has toes of this proportion). The French call it pied ancestral or pied de Néanderthal, believing it to be a sign of intelligence. Cleopatra was known to have this, and many consider this trait to be a sign of beauty."

WHAHAHAHAHA! Yes! This made my day. For all you people who have ever made fun of my long, skinny, strange feet: take that! (P.S. Jamie, I especially thought you would appreciate this knowledge, being the foot-genius that you are!)

Okay, so more Greece pictures are coming... thank you for your patience during my little diversion.

Another beautiful example of Greek Feet (seriously, my feet look JUST like that) from the museum at Ancient Corinth! Enjoy!

As days go by

2007-01-25T15:43:00.000-05:00

okay, so i am doing my best to play catch up. Here are some BRIEF highlights of the last two days. Part one: Athens (the Agora and Acropolis)

This is just a cool random building we saw on our way through town.

The Agora was like the town center/marketplace in ancient Athens and there are many, many cool things about it, but the best picture i took the whole morning was just this little old yellow Greek flower. PS- at the Agora we went up to Mars Hill where Paul stood and preached to the crowd regarding their wickedness and corruption.

Ah, the big daddy- the Parthenon. The inside of the collums actually was filled with gravel and a lead center and that is why it is still so intact today. Well, that and the fact that for whatever reason, the Ottomans didn't tear it down.

These are two of the guys in our group just admiring the beautiful city view from the top of the Acropolis- they weren't even talking, just sitting and awing. (and then i took their picture)

Okay so Wednesday was the windy-est day ever- and it was definitely complicated by the fact we were at two of the highest places in the city. When we got to lunch in the afternoon I caught a glimpse of my poor windblown self in the WC mirror and it was frightening!

Part Two: Corinth (Canal, and Ancient Ruins)

This is the canal of Corinth that connects the Agean sea to the Adriatic Sea so that ships may shortcut the Peloponesian Penninsula. This shot is looking towards the Adriatic sea and the whole thing is sooooo deep and amazing!

This is a great (and of course ancient) mosaic floor depicting Dionysis- the god of wine. This example highlights the artisans extremely high skill level because he managed to make the god look drunk (as you would expect him to be) but also after viewing the mosaic for a few minutes, you feel dizzy when you look at the ground. Genius!

Two words: Toe-tal Validation! I happen to notice that all of the statues in the museum at ancient Corinth (at least those which still had their feet) had toes like mine! Yes!!!!

After touring Corinth (also amazing) we went to a shop where they make certified replicas of museum pottery artifacts (since you can't take home the real ones!) They are all hand made and painted by a man who is the 5th generation of his family to run the shop. This is a handmade replica of a cup from 1500 BC found it Crete. It was one of my favorites, but alas it was 60 Euros (too much!)

One of the funniest and cutest things about Greece is that there are animals EVERYWHERE. Seriously- in all the shops, in all the archaeological sites, hanging around the restaraunts, sleeping on the sidewalks and sometimes in the street! This is just a fun picture of one of the very cute cats at the restaraunt where we ate lunch today. Tomorrow we are off to Vergina to see Philip's tomb and then onto Thessaloniki!

sleep on it...

2007-01-23T20:05:00.000-05:00

yeah, so here i am in Greece and i think my jetlag is definitely getting the better of me. It is 3AM here and i am fo sho' not sleepy at all. darn. So, rather than just lay there in bed, i decided to be constructive and post a few pics i have taken so far. tomorrow will be a big day for sightseeing, so you can look forward to the requisite number of pictures of old things. but for now... some fun... and maybe some sleep.

there are all these small brown birds that seem to live in the international terminal at JFK. they fly all around and eat crumbs and are actually quite entertaining. the strange thing is that noone makes any sign that they see them or are aware of them. everyone just ignores them like they aren't there. except me. i take pictures of them.

when we arrived in athens and boarded our tour bus it defintely reminded me of another tour bus in my past... : ) however, our bus is very big and new and tall. i get to sit in the front and looking out the front is very fun because you are so high up. the drive into town was mostly non-picturesque but i liked the look of this truck.

and this contruction company sign is really cool looking!

ah, the international language: starbucks. we did not go in. we just took pictures like goofs. however, i might go back tomorrow to see what things they sell- just out of curiosity...

this is my lovely bedroom. i was very pleased to get in it and take a shower. too bad i always forget that overseas the hotels don't give you washcloths... that's my only complaint. oh yes, that and completely pointless movies on TV (they are the only things in english).

and this is the nice view out on my balcony. i went out there to investigate when i woke up at midnight and was bored. oh! i just found some more channels on and CNN and BBC world are covering the state of the union address, sooooo at least i can watch that and keep up.

: ) kalinikta! (that means goodnight, but who knows how to spell it!)

they call me Cuban Pete...

2007-01-15T15:01:00.000-05:00

...I'm the king of the rumba beat!
Sooooo, on Friday I went to the FMEA (FL music educators association) conference in Tampa to meet and re-meet some people for work. I had a lovely time reconnecting with friends and professors from music school. After the always entertaining FSU Alumni reception, we went to Columbia in Ybor City. Now, for those of you who are unaware, Ybor (pronoucned EE-boar) is a cool old area of Tampa made famous by a Cuban cigar plant that brought in commerce and development. Now it is an area of restaraunts, nightclubs, and artsy people and is quite fun. The Columbia restaurant opened in 1905 and has great Cuban food and fun flamenco dancers! It's no NYC, but for my little corner of the world, this is Culture!

These dancers were very difficult to photograph! It was a great, entertaining show, but I guess photographic-suitability was low on the priority list. Check out the two-faced lady on the far right!

Castanets are soo cool! Sorry for the blurryness on her skirt. A bald guy had his head in the way and I had to make him disappear!

I love this picture! It's so very flamenco! Especially the kind of bizarre don Quixote painting in the background (wait, bizarre don Quixote... is that an oxy moron?)

why are the pictures always taken AFTER you stuff your face? Anyways, everyone looks lovely. Go noles! (oh yes, and PS- wooden spoons are highly reflective and must be removed so as not to blind casual passers-by.)

Hooray for music teachers! I had a really good time catching up and hearing all their great tales out of school. And in case you were wondering, it was found that teachers' conversations are not all that dissimilar to those of their pupils. (we talked about unflattering haircuts and myspace.) Haha!!

it's not unusual...

2007-01-11T09:48:00.000-05:00

(...to be loved by anyone... do do-do-do-do doooo) everytime i think of that song i picture carlton dancing on fresh prince. well, anyway- these pictures are a little mismatched, but for my life that's not so unusual! Enjoy!

yeah, so over the holidays (i think this day was Dec 30th) Lindsey (Muscroft) Vandalee (yeah, i don't know if i spelled that right... sorry guys!) and her new hubby Don came down to La Florida for some fun and sun. This coincided with my wicked sinus infection/bizarre sickness, but fortunately I made it over to see them for a little bit. This picture was taken shortly after Lindsey beat me in pool (but it was sooooo close, i tell you!) Please don't mention the fact that she lives in michigan and still makes me look so pasty. anyways, good times.

this is my much beloved turtle, JP. His official name is John Paul Michaelangelo Dellagato. But actually i think he is a she. oh well. he/she's cool with it.

JP is a red-eared slider (of the chinatown sliders) who i adopted from my friends will and christian. He's probably twice as big as when i got him almost a year ago (about 3 inches long) and i've read they can live for more than 50 years and grow to be as big as a dinner plate! whoa!

and this.... THIS is Lucy. Lucy is my roommate Casie's dog of whom I am sometimes guardian. She is a boxer and is super funny. She likes to crawl around under my bed even though its only 6 or so inches off the floor! I still don't know how she fits under there but its always pretty funny to see her head poking out. Okay, well more pictures to come, I'm sure!

what are you doing new years eve?

2007-01-01T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm glad you asked! My roommate Casie and I went to a couple parties in lovely Lakeland. The first one was a cocktail party at Jack and Rachel Plating's totally cool house. I'm all dressed up and ready, so let's go!

Karis and Rachel (the hostess) looking glamarous.

Steven, Heather and Me swanking it up. We are so snazzy!

Jack (the host) sported his new year's hat. And from the look of this photo, you'd better not hate on it.

Movin on out to the backyard to check out the sweet projection system the was set up on the side of the house next door. We watched part of the New Year's Rockin' Eve and that's KT Tunstall singing, you guessed it, the "whoo-hoo" song.

We were lucky to catch a few early fireworks through the trees from the backyard! How pretty!

Then we moved it on over to 2442 to toast in the new year with Holland (King of the bad champagne) -okay, so only one of the bottles was gross. Unfortunately, in this picture Holland is not yet aware he is holding a sample from the bad bottle. Oh yes, and kudos to Allie for the jerry curl he's sporting.

2007 plus 2 minutes: the mighty six (five of them anyway) posed it up before retiring for the evening (ha, yeah sure...)

Robbie, (King) Holland, Allie, and Andrew- so far enjoying themselves in 2007 (well, maybe Holland's enjoying it a little too much)

So, it was a great night out for the Joyiner Roomies. (Yes, for anyone who hasn't heard, my roomate's last name is Joyner!) We had a fun, friend-filled, and festive 2007 Eve!

Happy 2007!!!

are there any songs about being sick?

2006-12-29T11:36:00.000-05:00

i can't think of any... but that could just be the nyquil... oooh, i love nyquil. but i do not love being ill. this is my excited face when casie brought me some nyquil yesterday. no seriously, it was the highlight of my day. yucko.

enjoy your day and the fact that you are not sickly like me!

it's the most wonderful time...

2006-12-28T09:36:00.000-05:00

of the year... well, i don't really like superlatives, but i think in the spirit of my blog title i'm going to try and post using only song titles for my, well, post titles. that's a lot of titles. good thing sean connery's not reading this. : )

okay, so i got a great camera for Christmas (thanks, parents!) and now let the fun blogging begin!

First, i tested it on some available family members. Good thing they were up for it!

my sister shelly always brings a lot of cheese to Christmas... no, the truth is that she's excited because she got a camera, too!

check out my dad's sweet Christmas shirt. He splattered it himself. He is a splatter paint artist. no, for real... he really likes paint.

my grandma's got the Christmas spirit going on, too! Check out that sweater! She also made these: everyone in our family has one... i'm sure my mom's is pretty old and mine was made when i was born. even though they don't really function as stockings (either to wear or stuff goodies in) they are a holiday staple in our family.

after we returned to DeLand, we went here:

located inside DeLeon Springs State Park (next to a spring that maybe was thought to be the fountain of youth for a few minutes) this little restaurant is great! You get to make your own pancakes on griddle in the middle of the ta-bibble (sorry, i didn't want to mess up my rhyme).

these are my tasty pancakes. I made them with chocolate chips, bananas, and a little honey on top. they were soooo good!

they were so good I am even including this picture which is not so flattering of me, but gets my beautiful pancakes from their best angle.

later I went to visit my friend Mike (who was home from Moscow) and I took along Sam and her 18 month old daughter, Emily. After a nice chat, we played in the back yard/side of the golf course. I kept chasing emily around to get a cute picture, but she was pretty fast!

I'm getting closer...

success! the trick is, sit her on a railing where she can't get down and then take the picture. but, she's such a cutie, i think my effort paid off, don't you?

ah, old friends. we are getting old. I met Sam in 3rd grade and I think I met Mike in 6th or 7th grade. We sat next to each other in band. yep. haha! Sam and I played french horn and Mike played bass clarinet- sorry friend, your secret's out now!

then on the way home later that night, the moon was setting and it was big and orange and crazy. This picture is the best i could do without a tripod. I tried to take it for about 2 minutes and then it sank behind the trees and was gone. If you look closely, you can see the street signs and that car to give you some perspective of how big it looked!

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable holiday time! Family, friends and fotography! my favorite!

of COURSE

2006-12-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

now my title has returned. to mock me. if i wasn't so glad to see it, i'd be irritated. unfortunately i know better than to get my hopes up... we'll see if this lasts!

dude...

2006-12-20T09:36:00.000-05:00

okay, so i am new to all this blog business. overall i had success yesterday as i began to edit my humble pagina. however, something is wacky with my blog title and i can't figure it out. if you look under the three large dots, you will probably just see blank space. now double click on the blank space... did my title magically appear? don't worry, if it did it will go away soon. is this some sort of bizarre formatting phenomenon that i am unaware of? did i forget to de-click the "blog title mysteriously vanishes" box? anyone with good ideas/suggestions should send them my way, because honestly... its putting a total damper on my bloginess.

HELP!

coming soon...

2006-12-19T13:11:00.000-05:00

i'm getting a nice digital camera for Christmas... so let the countdown to cool blogging begin! No one likes to read blogs that are just words, words, words... So hopefully soon I will be on my way to rockin the blogosphere.
Happy Christmas!