Meal at The Shed

Last night, DH and I took advantage of a $50 gift certificate (that expires today) and tried dinner at The Shed at Glenwood. It was a nice little place - plenty of seating (it wasn't that busy last night), quality food and drink selections yet casual, and great service. It's located in the new Glenwood Park neighborhood, which is one of those new Atlanta urban redevelopment areas - small retail mixed with housing and a neighborhood park.

I ordered from the Prix Fixe menu for the evening, while David ordered off the regular menu. The Prix Fixe included 3 courses, with two options for each. I started with the Roasted Beet Salad with Organic Vermont Goat Cheese, Orange Segments, and White Balsamic - I thought it was really good. It was made with heirloom beets, which I found quite tasty (two kinds - one sweeter, one milder), especially with a little goat cheese with each bite. DH is not a fan of beets, but tried them, sans goat cheese. My main course - Rigatoni with Housemade Pork Sausage, San Marzano Tomatoes, Ricotta - was really yummy. I really liked the pork sausage ragu with a huge dollop of fresh ricotta on top. The pasta was al dente (yes!) and there's probably enough left over for me to make two small lunches out of it! DH didn't think all the flavors went together well, but I enjoyed it. And my dessert choice was the Flourless Chocolate Cake, Orange Anglaise. A modest slice, very chocolately, with a thick chocolate layer on top and cake underneath. The cake was very crumbly in texture, but not dry. I liked the orange sauce - it was like eating orange-flavored chocolate. DH got a small plate of mixed olives to start (some better than others, a mix of tiny ones and a couple of huge ones), and ordered the large portion of Steamed Mussels, White Wine, Garlic Cream Sauce, Fries. The sauce was quite tasty - a creamy broth flavored with garlic, cream, and some lemon. It was great to scoop up some of the liquid as a chaser after each mussel. DH would probably rate them as good (but not exceptional) mussels. All in all, I enjoyed the atmosphere and service, and the food was good enough that I would try it again. Looking forward to the next season's menu.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Crafty Christmas follow-up

Since the gifts have now been given, here's a pic of the two bracelets I made for Christmas gifts. The first one was from a pack of beads - turquoise oval nuggets, bronze bicone beads, and teal beads. The second one was my own mix of faux freshwater pearls (all I could find in my hurry, otherwise I would have preferred real ones) and clear AB beads, and aquamarine bicones. Hopefully the recipients will enjoy wearing them!

Also, here's Thoth sporting his Christmas bandana that I made for him last year:

We're planning to spend a quiet New Year's Eve watching the Peach Bowl (Go Jackets!) with some friends and having dinner. We are planning to try The Shed at Glenwood for dinner tonight, so maybe I'll write a review about that tomorrow. Took my ARE #4 yesterday - it went as well as can be expected. Still waiting on results from ARE #3, but I heard a bunch of scores were released by Prometric last week (they were doing some sort of quality control?), so hopefully I'll be getting my letter soon. I guess I'll be starting to study for the next one next week.

Merry Christmas!

DH and I are enjoying a nice quiet Christmas at home for the first time in our 6 years married. Last night we attending a Christmas Eve service at Northside UMC. The music was really good and we enjoyed singing all of the Christmas carols. I always enjoy flipping to the front of the United Methodist Hymnal and reading John Wesley's Rules of Singing. We sat around some good singers, and some people who weren't singing at all. DH and I were trying to make up for some of the slack. I was pleasantly surprised at the end of the service when we wished those around us "Merry Christmas," that the woman in front of us turned and said to us, "We really enjoyed your singing." Ah, more people should follow John Wesley's rules!

We're working on a yummy dinner for two - grilled ribeye steaks, green beans, and sticky rice with mushrooms. I think we'll be having vanilla ice cream with apple bundles and cinnamon sugar cookies for dessert. I hope everyone out there is having a Merry Christmas!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - NYC

(Sorry this took so long to post!)

Thanksgiving 2008 - Part 1

Thanksgiving 2008 - Part 2

Day One - Monday 11/24 - Arrived via Amtrak/MTA from Springfield through New Haven to Grand Central Terminal just before lunch. We managed to find our way to friend Ben's apartment in Brooklyn, where we ended up staying for two nights, due to our other friends catching a nasty bug on their drive up - we didn't want to get sick too! Thank goodness for friends, and we are certainly very grateful that Ben and Annelies didn't mind us crashing at their place. Plus, we got to spend some quality time with them, see their cool new apartment, and meet the two new adorable kitties! We spent the afternoon wandering around Midtown - we just decided to start at Times Square and work our way around from there. David made a stop at Midtown Comics, and I wanted to see the Hoffman Auto Showroom by Frank Lloyd Wright at Park and 56th, which is now a Mercedes-Benz showroom. (I missed it last time.) On the way, we ran into the Lever House plaza, which contained several fountains (the water was drained out due to the cold) of Sanrio character bronze sculptures by Tom Sachs! That was an unexpected treat! Once we found the showroom, the salesman that greeted us at the door (like we looked like were going to buy a Mercedes?) was very friendly when I asked if it would be okay for us look around the interior (yes, we're architects - the easy, generic answer) and take some photos. I asked if he knew what had changed since they acquired the space. He pointed out the original features and even the original furniture that FLW designed that is still in use by the sales staff! I thought that was pretty cool. We finally headed back to Brooklyn to have pizza at Grimaldi's with Ben and Annelies, one of the few coal-burning pizzerias still around, and looked around the pier down the street near the end of the Brooklyn Bridge, overlooking the river and downtown Manhattan. It was a nice view and we got some good night shots.

Day Two - 11/25 - Tuesday morning we headed up to the Upper East Side to meet up with Val and Tim at the Met. They were feeling slightly better, so they wanted to attempt some museum time. It was crazy busy (although perhaps the Met is crazy busy every day?) and we managed to check our coats and start exploring. We hit the back wing first so we could grab a bite to eat for lunch in the cafeteria. Then we took Tim through the Egyptian area so we could get to the American section (most was closed off for renovations, including the FLW room), so we could show him what we could get to in the American wing. We were able to see Tiffany glass, Stickley pieces, and a few other Arts & Crafts items. V&T took off shortly thereafter as they were still regaining their energy back from being sick and were ready to crash for a bit. David and I continued through the Early Christian/Byzantine area in the center, then the Asian wing on the upper right side before calling it quits. We spent about the whole day there, so needless to say, my feet were hurting! Still haven't hit much of the left wing - maybe next time. We decided to try Carnegie Deli for dinner - WAY overrated. Although the corned beef sandwich was impressive in stature, I was not impressed by the taste. We should have gotten pizza...

Day Three - 11/26 - We decided to move to the hotel with V&T today, since the parade was going to be EARLY the next morning and we didn't want to have to commute in from Brooklyn at the crack of dawn. Once we moved our stuff over to the hotel, we headed out for the MoMA. It was still out in Queens last time we were in NYC, so this was going to be our first visit, and our first look at the new building. They had some pretty great pieces, and we also got to see the Van Gogh exhibit. The VG exhibit was okay, but I thought the exhibit at the High was better, with more space in the gallery to move around. It was very crowded with not much elbow room. The building itself was very nice, with a sculpture garden in the courtyard. We left for lunch and came back to finish the other half of the museum. Had a great diner-type lunch two blocks away at the Astro Restaurant. We headed back to the hotel to bum around and rest up a little, then headed out toward the American Museum of Natural History to see the parade balloon inflation start up for the next morning. I think they call it "Float Night". We had plans for a late dinner just around the corner at Ocean Grill, so it worked out perfectly. One of the architects at work has a daughter that waits tables there, so were were able to meet up with him and his daughter served our table! The seafood was excellent - I had to get the scallops, but next time I am going to try the sushi! We turned in right after dinner, as we had to get up early to stake out our spot for the parade!

Day Four - 11/27 - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade! We got up around 6:30 am and were able to get to our predetermined spot (as researched by Val) for good parade-watching at 51st and Broadway by around 7:15 am. (This is probably the absolute LATEST time to get out there and get a good spot - parade starts at 9 am.) We were at the SE corner, by the Stardust Diner, probably about 4 rows back. Luckily, we had a family with two small girls and another group with grandpa in a wheelchair in front of us, so it probably helped us short people see a little better than having all standing people in front of us. We made small talk with those around us, and had fun talking to the girls. One was sporting her Sponge Bob t-shirt, and was very excitedly anticipating seeing him in the parade. (In fact, she squealed the entire time Sponge Bob passed in front of us - it was very cute!) Finally the parade started, we saw the clowns, the floats, the balloons, the bands, and in particular, the Georgia Tech Marching Band! They were the second marching band to appear in the parade, just after the Snoopy balloon. We got video, Val got photos, we were able to see the drum majors and directors and call out their names since they were on our side of the street. They saw us and waved, so that was cool. And we got to hear them play Ramblin' Wreck as they passed us. What a treat! After Santa passed and the parade was over, we headed back to the hotel to rest and recover from standing for several hours in the cold, then headed back out to make a pilgrimage to B&H Photo and Video, where Val and I both got our Nikon cameras from. The store was a sight to behold! Each department was very organized, with its own help desk and number system for you to speak to a staff person. Once you decided to purchase something, you got a ticket to pay with downstairs, and your items are transported via an overhead conveyor belt system to behind the cash registers, where you pick up your package once you pay for it. I was told that this was the first time in 30 years that they were open on Thanksgiving, so lucky us! I hope they had good business! I highly recommend ordering any of your camera equipment from there - free shipping on a a lot of things, great service and fantastic prices. We then headed to Brooklyn to Val's Cousin Rick's for a nice, quiet Thanksgiving meal - delicious and a great ending for a great day!

Day 5 - 11/28 - This was our last morning in NYC. Since Val and Tim were feeling a lot better at this point, we wanted to hit a few more things for them before leaving town. The Travel Inn was reasonable and great, and they let us keep our car parked there (on-site, free parking all week!) up until 5 pm after checking out! We took V&T to see the windows at Macy's. The 34th Street side had scenes from Miracle on 34th Street, and the Broadway side had the theme "Believe" with a few interactive windows - heat sensors from putting your hand on the glass, I think. I loved the Believe windows - lots of neat imagery and ideas. We then headed to Little Italy/Chinatown for a quick walk-through and pizza at Lombardi's, another coal-burning pizzeria. I think this place is by far the best place we've been to in the city. (I'll take other suggestions for next time, but I think Lombardi's has officially made my "can't-miss" list.) We packed up the car and left the city after lunch, headed to Val's grandmother's in Winchester, VA, to spend the night.

Day 6 - 11/29 - We had a great but short visit with Val's grandmother and mom. We drove the rest of the way back to Atlanta on Saturday, huddled around the Sirius radio and Val's phone waiting for football updates, as our beloved Yellow Jackets were playing the dreaded uga (sic) in the annual Governor's Cup that afternoon. The ACC games are apparently broadcast on XM, so we could only get updates. Luckily, Val's mom was watching back in VA and calling with the updates. It was a bit of a nail-biter toward the end, when we could get a very static-y AM station passing through Charlotte, but in the end, we were victorious! Go Jackets! We made it home in the evening to a very meow-y but loving kitty that was glued to my hip for the next few days.

All in all, a great trip. Not enough time, as usual, but I guess that leaves more for next time!

Elf Yourself!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Crafty Christmas

I've been studying, writing holiday cards, studying, shopping, studying, making crafty Christmas presents, studying... do you see a pattern? I made two easy but nice (I think) jewelry pieces for MIL and SMIL last night. Not posting a pic since there's a chance MIL might be reading... anyway, I'll post a photo of them next week. We're visiting DH's Alabama family this weekend, so trying to get things wrapped up tonight.

Also, I found out today that two of my cousins are expecting babies one month apart from each other! I am very excited for them and looking forward to their exciting summer next year. This may warrant another visit to the west coast...

ARE #3 scheduled

Wow - there was a corner on the market for December test appointments! I couldn't get a reasonable time slot (really, NO time slots, but that's probably because it's almost a 6-hour test, so they probably only do a couple each day) for the last graphics test that I planned to take in December (Building Planning), so I'm taking a 2.5-hour, multiple-choice one instead. I have Building Materials and Methods scheduled for 8 AM on Monday, December 29th. Back to hitting the books!

Sanrio Sunshine

Those of you who know me well know that I grew up on Sanrio characters, much like you might have grown up with Snoopys (DH) and Belles, or My Little Ponies, or Barbies, or G.I. Joes. As I have gotten older, though, I haven't really grown out of my love for Hello Kitty and gang. Some of my favorite Sanrio characters growing up include HK herself, the Little Twin Stars, My Melody, Tuxedo Sam, Pochacco and Keroppi. They continue to bring a smile to my face today, and I still indulge myself on the cute pad of stationary or pen whenever I come across a store or, these days, Target. I even have a little tabletop Christmas tree that is now decorated with little Sanrio resin characters - tres cute! My current love is Chococat, since it reminds me of my dear black kitty, Thoth. My DH is kind enough to tolerate my infatuation, and in his random online searches came across this amusing blog of a man who doesn't quite get his Asian wife's love of all things Hello Kitty: Hello Kitty Hell - One Man's Life With Cute Overload. What made me think about this today is that I discovered the ultimate Sanrio indulgence for the adult Sanrio fan - a Hello Kitty credit card! I don't really need one, but I can't help but think just how much better my retail therapy would be if I pulled this out everytime I needed to do a little shopping to cheer me up! :)

PS - Sorry on the delay of the rest of my NYC post - still trying to get photos sorted out.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles - Massachusetts

I'm going to try and summarize our trip by state, so hopefully this works out to two parts. Part 1: Massachusetts...

Dad, Mom, Lena, me, and David in our annual scarf photo.

As I mentioned in the last post, we made it to my sister's via Amtrak from Boston (South Station) to Springfield without a hitch. We had a great weekend seeing my sister's place and visiting Northampton, Chicopee, Springfield, Holyoke (where my sis and I were born), and Longmeadow (my first home). Northampton was really charming, and we enjoyed a nice brunch at Sylvester's as well as a big Christmas kickoff shopping weekend in all the shops (20% off weekend). We had a cold but enjoyable walk around the Ashley Reservoir, which was actually partially frozen the morning that we walked it, but beautiful nonetheless. We also had a really nice dinner with my old babysitter, Betsy, and her mom, Ruth. It's been 27 years since they've seen me, so it was a fun reunion for all of us!

Lena, Ruth, Buddy, Betsy, Mom, Dad, David and me.

My sister's birthday is coming up this Thursday (Happy Early Birthday, Lena!), so we went ahead a celebrated while we were all together by having dinner at a great little German restaurant in Chicopee, Munich Haus. We then went back to her place and indulged in a very yummy Truffle cake that we bought at a bakery in downtown Northampton.

Enjoying our wurst and schnitzel at Munich Haus.

Monday morning, we headed to NYC via Amtrak to New Haven and then MTA Metro-North Railroad (a commuter train) into NYC Grand Central Terminal. Our friends Val and Tim picked up a pretty nasty bug on their drive up from Atlanta, so we were advised to stay away from their hotel room initially. Luckily, we were able to stay with our dear friend Cyndi's brother, Ben, in Brooklyn for the first two nights, so other than a little longer commute time to get into the city, our travels were not delayed too much. Thankfully, Val and Tim were able to recuperate somewhat and able to start seeing the sights with us on Tuesday. Stay tuned for more on our NYC adventures in the next post!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Part 2

Well, we made it through Boston and are now enjoying a great weekend at my sister's place in Chicopee, MA. It is COLD here! We went about 20 mins north yesterday to shop in quaint little Northampton (home of Smith College), and it was supposedly 3 degrees farenheit with wind chill! Brrrrrr! We spend today visiting the neighborhood that my sister and I lived in for the first few years of our lives, which is about 20 minutes SE from here - Longmeadow, MA - and then having dinner with my old babysitter's mom, and maybe even my old babysitter herself and her husband! That would be really cool. I have not seen them since I was 6 years old. Looking forward to another good day, and then we head to NYC in the morning. Please help me pray for snow not rain this coming week, otherwise it will make for some pretty stinky parade-watching. More pictures and stories when I get back next week!

Is your cat plotting to kill you?

Got this from a coworker today, and had a good laugh. If you have a cat, take the quiz and see if your cat is plotting to kill you...

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, Part 1

Calling all trip advisors! This New England tour that I am planning is becoming more and more complicated... I'm trying to get from Boston (MA) to Springfield (MA) to NYC. I think trains will be my friends, and probably a pick-up by my sister in Worcester to get me to her place near Springfield. Anyway, I'll be through all these towns starting next Wednesday through Thanksgiving, so any trip advice or sights to see or restaurant suggestions are appreciated!

My trip has become part work, part pleasure. I've being sent in someone's place to attend the Greenbuild Conference in Boston, which is exciting for me. I haven't been in Boston since I lived in MA, so probably about 5 years old, and even then, the only thing I remember is the Boston's Children's Museum, in all it's glory (at least at 5). Also, the Greenbuild Conference is a gathering of like-minded architects, builders, designers, and vendors with green buildings in mind, and since that's going to be the wave of the future, anything I can learn is a plus. My DS is in Chicopee, and I have not had the opportunity to visit her since she moved there almost 1.5 years ago, so I'll get to see her and my parents, as well as my childhood area, for the first time since age 6. And then of course the finale, NYC. We'll be enjoying the sights there for sure. MoMA is definitely on the list, and a couple of restaurants. And seeing my beloved GT Marching Band in the Macy's parade. Sounds like a whirlwind, I know, but I am really looking forward to it all! Now to figure out how to pack for 11 days of cold weather in my little carry-on suitcase...

Mario CAN Defeat Hunger!

So we didn't win a prize, but I hear we were one of the finalists for Best Use of Labels. We should have won! Anyway, here is Rosser's creation, and we loved it! We used Ronzoni pasta and Melba Snacks boxes for the background sky and cloud, large tomato cans for the brick wall, green beans for the pipe, and various tomato, pork and beans, black eyed peas, and sauerkraut for Mario. This is me with our Team Captain, Becky. Go Mario! He's on display through the 16th, at Underground Atlanta, downstairs near the food court, around the corner from Orange Julius.

Evil Eye

I'm having fun with the new camera. Of course, my first experimental subjects are DK and DH. Here they are with their best evil eye faces!


We are going to the Canstruction Gala tonight, so I'll have photos of our company's piece de resistance up soon. I hope our "Mario CAN defeat hunger" will get a prize - he turned out pretty well! Also, I just realized that Wednesday was my first year blogiversary. Happy Blogiversary to me, and thanks for reading!

New 'do

After getting my hair really chopped at the beginning of September, it finally started feeling like it was growing out all of the sudden this last week! The back had gotten to the point where it was getting longer than the front, jamming into the back of my neck or collar when I tilted my head back (threatening to be a baby mullet), and just getting plain shaggy. So in honor of Election Day (and there being an opening with my stylist), I went in for a haircut this evening. I had originally wanted a graduated bob when I got my hair chopped, but I think Robbi thought it might be too much of a shock since I was already getting about 11 inches chopped, so she tried to be on the conservative side. Well, I have to say that she outdid herself tonight, as I am loving my cut, and hope it stays like this for awhile!

Camera update - just checked tracking and it looks like if all goes well, the camera should be coming to me at work tomorrow!! I am SoooOOOooo excited!!

Nikon D90 ordered!

Woo hoo!! I've made my big purchase for the year, now I just have to wait for it to get here... YAY!!

http://imaging.nikon.com/products/imaging/lineup/digitalcamera/slr/d90/index.htm

Accessories will be welcome for Christmas gifts...

The Three-hour Tour

DH and I decided to leave work a little early yesterday evening to try and get to an advanced voting location and get in our votes before Tuesday. The Galleria appeared to be the shortest line of the six Cobb locations all week, so that's where we headed. Little did we know that we would be on a three-hour tour of the Galleria! We zig-zagged back and forth outside, then back and forth inside the doors to the old movie theater (which was honestly probably the last time DH and I had been there, back when it was still the AMC), then around the center atrium, around the glassmaker's booth, back around the escalator, then finally through a bank-like line in one of the storefronts to the computer check-in, then to our final destination, one of 30 (thankfully all working) electronic poll booths! I will say that I was very thankful over two-thirds of the line was indoors, as it was getting chilly outside. And the poll workers were all pleasant, the people next to us in line were fun to talk to (we decided about halfway through that the best time to get in line will probably be 5 pm Friday, since most parents will probably be home with trick-or-treating kids), and Jocks and Jills was even offering hot chocolate with whipped cream! We got in line at 5:24 pm, got outside from the poll booths at 8:19. Almost exactly 3 hours. At least I won't have to stand in line like this for another 4 years... GO VOTE!

ARE #2 update

I checked on the Georgia Secretary of State's website today, and according to it, I have passed my Construction Documents and Services test! (Note that they cannot spell "Construction" correctly...hmmm) Yay! 2 down, 7 to go... time to start really hitting the books for Building Technology!

You look good for 100!

Well, I had a crazy but fun weekend (I think), helping the GT Band celebrate 100 years. Honestly, Val and I spent so much time planning it, the actual events seemed to fly by. But I think we both enjoyed ourselves, even though we were sleep-deprived and a little loopy by the time Friday night came around. I got to see the middle part of the Surround Sound Concert. We missed the premiere of the Kappa Kappa Psi-commissioned piece, appropriately titled HardDrive, at the beginning, but the concert band will be performing again in a week, so I'll have to try and catch it then. The Friday BBQ went relatively well - we did run out of BBQ at about the last 15 people and ended up having to order some pizzas, but blame it on me for not bumping up the numbers, the caterer for not throwing a little extra in, the students for taking 3 sandwiches apiece...oh well. Saturday's rehearsal, lunch, marchover with the Band, pre-game, and post-game Tau Beta Sigma reception were all great. Losing the Homecoming game was not. Other than that, I think a great time was had by all. Time to start planning my trip to New York to see the Macy's Parade...

Wooly Beads Part 2 & The New Stash

I had a great time at the Georgia Quilt Show yesterday with my friend Val. We really enjoyed the wool beads class that we took and met a bunch of fun ladies in our class. I am not a quilter, but the conversation turned quickly into lamenting over too many hobbies acquired, UFOs, and the like, so I immediately felt like I could relate right off the bat! We used a wet felting process for making the beads using wool roving - essentially working wool fluff down to a little ball, by slowing wetting our hands and then eventually dunking our ball of wool into warm, soapy water to help the felting process. It was so easy and fun, I just have sore arms today from working down 14 fluff balls! In the end I only needed 9 wool beads for my bracelet, so I have a 3 the same size leftover for another project and 2 smaller ones that I think I will turn into matching earrings. I ended up getting more wool roving at the exhibition hall and also some fun fat quarters that I don't know what I am going to do with yet, but just loved them!

Starting from fluff balls:

Ladies from our class with our finished products:

My finished bracelet and leftover wool beads:

My new stash of angelina fibers (sparklies) and wool roving:

My new stash of fat quarters:

Val and I also were able to meet up with one of my childhood friends, Judith, who recently moved back to Gainsville, and in the process we discovered the Talbot's outlet and a wonderful little French place, the Georgia French Bakery. I got away with a straw hat, velveteen jacket, ballet flats, and two belts for about $30 at the Talbot's outlet, and had delicious French onion soup, roast beef panini, and chocolate eclair from the bakery. Both are highly recommended!

Wooly Beads

It's been a crazy week already, and it's only Tuesday!

First of all, Happy Early Bday to my MIL - it's tomorrow, but just in case I don't post...

I am really looking forward to a class that I will be taking this weekend with my friend Val at the Georgia Quilt Show. It's a wool beads class. Aren't they cool?? This will blend my beading and knitting interests together, so I am quite excited about that. You all might just get a wool beads bracelet or necklace from me for Christmas this year...

If a tree falls in a driveway in the middle of the night...

...does anyone hear it?

First let me say that an *entire* tree did not fall on our driveway, but more like 1/3 of a tree - a very large branch. Secondly, I did hear it fall, because I was up after getting home from the Thrashers game uploading photos from our Seattle trip back in July because Snapfish has a 50-prints-for-50-cents sale going on, and I wanted to get some printed. This was probably around 2 am. I heard something large and heavy sounding fall down in our front yard - like the sound of a large log being dropped on the ground. Being so dark out and sorta freaking out like somebody might be outside, I just stopped typing and listened, and didn't hear anything further, so figured we would check it out in the morning. The cat did wake from a dead sleep and ran to the window to look out. I don't know that he could actually see anything, since it was actually in the driveway on the side of our house, not in the front yard. This is what we saw when we looked out of our upstairs hall bathroom window this morning:

I think it's manageable...we just need to give ourselves some time to cut some smaller branches off and maybe drag it parallel to the bushes to get our cars out today.

2 Down, 7 To Go...

I made it through my test this morning. It went as well as can be expected, I guess, for a 3-hr-long, 115-multiple-choice-questions test. Now it's just wait and see if I get that "PASS" letter in the mail - 2 to 4 weeks, my cohorts tell me. I had to hit up Ann Taylor Loft afterwards for my retail therapy - actually found 2 cute tops and a skirt on sale, AND used my $25 savings card from the last spree, so I made off pretty well. Then later at work I had to run over to CNN Center for a meeting, so I had to hit the food court for my chocolate Frosty therapy. Then DH and I decided to go out for dinner, so I had my Los Bravos cheap Mexican therapy. All told, a pretty good day. I'm gonna take a few days off, but then it's off to studying for my next one - probably the Building Technology graphics test. Not much else to report, since I haven't been doing anything but studying every night over the last week and a half. The gas shortage did wonders to keep me home and studying...

Black is Back

After worrying 4 days about my cat's digestive system (you can read a little more about it here, but we'll spare you the details), I think kitty buddy's GI is back in working order. I never thought I'd be happy to see normal kitty poo in the litterbox! LOL

Sidebar - my friend John sent me a fun little animated clip today. Take a peek if you've got 10 minutes and decent bandwidth to watch this cute short: http://www.vimeo.com/1084537.

Back to the books and sort of half paying attention to the VP debate...

ARE #2 Scheduled

This update just in...

So I buckled down and just went online to schedule my first multiple choice ARE - Construction Documents and Services - for Monday at 8 am. Wish me luck!

NYC or Bust

Some how, some way, be it train, plane, or automobile, we are beginning to plan our Thanksgiving trip up north. "Why go up north where it's cold?" you might ask. Well, our reasons are two-fold: 1) to visit a spend a holiday/early birthday with my dear sis in Chicopee, MA, who's been there for 1.5 years now, and we haven't visited yet, and 2) see a group that we know - the GT Marching Band - in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. First off, our visit to Lena's has been long overdue, and secondly, if one ever is going to see a big parade like Macy's, isn't it more fun to see someone you know in it?

I'm starting a list of things to do while we're up there. If you have any activities that I should definitely not miss, please send them my way. Or if you live up there now and want to meet up with us, let me know! We are planning to be in the city at least 2-3 days - more if we can afford it or find a spot on a friend's floor. On my list so far: the Parade (of course!), MOMA, Lombardi's Pizza (note to self: bring appetite AND cash), maybe a show or two (Radio City Music Hall's Christmas Spectacular, Broadway, Birdland, Late Night with Conan O'Brien?), and a couple of fave shopping spots we discovered on our last trip (Pearl River Mart, Manhattan Portage, Rizzoli Bookstore, etc.)

My friend Val and potentially her DH are interested in heading up that way too, so we've got a carpool going at this point. If we drive, we may stop halfway and stay with some of her family. Also, DH has found a spot on the way that he wants to stop and see - check out his post from Sunday. All recommendations welcome!

OK after 5K

I participated in the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Challenge 5K Run/Walk at Turner Field last night. For not really training, I made pretty good time walking it in about 52 minutes - about 16.7 minutes per mile. That's better than average for me, so I'm happy. Woke up this morning with a slight headache, probably need more water, but otherwise feeling fine. Tomorrow will be the real teller - I am usually more sore on the second day, if there is soreness to be had.

Not much going on this week. We got Wii Fit last weekend, so that helped me "train" for the 5K this past week (haha). But truly, it's been a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying the exercises on it. I'm up to my ears in Homecoming planning for the GTBAA, helping with planning a nWW meeting in a week and a half, and trying to study! On top of that, gas shortages around here have put driving anywhere at a premium, so for the most part we've been trying to limit our trips and consolidate errands wherever possible. Thank goodness DH and I are able to carpool!

Cameras and Disco Balls

I haven't had much to write about this week because I've mostly only been working, studying, and sleeping. But I did take some time this weekend to have a little fun.

I found out about a camera warehouse moving sale through my friend Val, so DH and I went with her early Sat. morning. There were maybe 15 people there when we got there (we got there about 20 min early, and the sale had already started), and who knows how many (LOTS!) by the time we left about an hour and a half later. Val got a great deal for some glass filters, mat board, light box, and some other camera stuff. I went without really expecting to get anything, but walked out with an awesome deal on a discontinued Epson compact photo printer for $3 (although it was missing a power adaptor that I am now working on trying to find), a brand new Nikon SLR camera case for $10, a random but cool looking leather case that once held an old camera for 50 cents, a couple $1 packs of 20-count double-sided 4x6 photo paper, and some free lens cleaning papers thrown in there for free. It was certainly interesting just to walk around an peek into the continually multiplying cardboard boxes that magically kept appearing, row after row, in their parking lot. So now I just need a camera to go into that camera bag! I noticed that the Nikon D90 kit is now in stores - they appeared in Sunday ads today. I should go by and check one out in person. Now just waiting for the body only to come out, since the lens I want is not the one that comes with the kit...

I also finally committed to designing a few jewelry pieces for myself using the cool "disco balls" that Val introduced me to. I was finally able to get my hands on some at the bead show we went to a few weekends ago, I just hadn't figured out what I wanted to make with them. They are a cool mix of antiqued, bali-looking silver filgaree and Swarovski crystals. I made a v-shaped chain necklace with the blue one and a pendant and earrrings with the purple and fuschia ones. I still have one more champagne-colored one that I haven't decided what to make with yet. The photos don't really do them justice - they are way sparkly and I love them!

Now you see it, now you don't

Here are "before" and "after" pics of my haircut this morning. That cute girl to the right of me is my fabulous stylist, Robbi at Adore, whom I have been seeing since DH and I got married. This is the second time she's cut my hair to donate, and I am pleased as punch with her styling magic. If anyone needs a new hair person, I highly recommend her! My hair was not quite as long as the last time I had it cut (12" that time), so my bob is a little shorter this time, but I am not worried about it because it will grow back. The hair is going in the mail to Locks of Love first thing on Monday! My camera battery died shortly after the right pic was taken, so I'll have more side shots later once my hair gets over the shock and settles into its new 'do.

Post #100!

It's my 100th post! I didn't think I'd be keeping this up almost a year later, but somehow blogging is a lot easier than keeping a journal. And people in cyberspace might actually be reading it! It is the year of 100s at GT - 100 years of the alumni association, college of architecture, and GT Band! There will be a lot of fun things going on at Homecoming on Oct. 25th this year, so I am looking forward to that. In fact, I will be helping to plan some of the GTBAA activities.

(Just out of curiousity, I searched for "100" on Google images. Click here to see what it gave me.)

In other news, today I received an end-of-fiscal-year bonus! That was a nice surprise. And it puts me in a better position to get that digital SLR camera that I have been eyeing to replace my old (but trusty) 1.3 megapixal Sony Cybershot that I have had since 2002. I just found out this week that the Nikon D90 is coming out within the next month, so my loyalties have changed from the D80 to the D90 now. I am also trying to decide which lens to get. My friend Val recommends the Nikkor 18-200 mm VR (vibration reduction) lens as a good multipurpose lens, and that way I won't need to be switching between two smaller ones. Any thoughts or advice out there? Please leave a comment or email me! Thanks a bunch!

F-READ-OM

Our photo with Bullseye, the Target dog!

Authors we saw at the Decatur Book Festival.

We had a great time at the Decatur Book Festival yesterday. "FREADOM" was one of the cute t-shirts that we saw someone wearing, with the "READ" part in red. I thought it was clever!

We got to hear two great authors speak - Patrick McDonnell, who is the creator of Mutts, and Andy Runton, creator of Owly. Both spoke and showed us how to draw their main comic strip characters. McDonnell "read" (there are no words, only images) from his new book, South, and donated his sketches to the local animal shelter. Runton spent a good deal of time showing kids how to draw animals using simple shapes and encouraging them to explore their dreams if they liked to draw. He also gave out old "Free Comic Book Day" comic books of Owly, and showed everyone how to read Owly's emotions, since his strip is images only. It was really fantastic to hear these authors speak about the characters they created, especially after I have only read them in print all these years. It was neat to hear them come alive through the creators' mouths and to learn that my perception of the characters are pretty spot on!

We enjoyed a late lunch at one of our favorite Decatur watering holes - Brick Store Pub - and lo and behold, Owly made an appearance in my hummus plate! (See bottom right photo above.) Okay, so we moved around a few cucumber slices, but still, I thought it was a great likeness!

GAMEDAY and Happy Friday!

GAMEDAY! GT vs JSU

DH and I attended the GT football game last night - click on Buzz above to see more photos. It was a great kick-off for the new season and a new coach. We got to see the triple option in play, and it seemed to work pretty well, at least against Jacksonville State... We also got to see the new uniforms in person, and yes, the "old gold" pants are as mustard-greenish as they appear in photos. DH has decided to give this color the name "mold gold," which I think describes it pretty well! I did notice, however, in looking at the big screen in the stadium, that they do look more like the classic, tannish-old-gold color on the jumbotron, so maybe it will look good on TV. One can only hope. My personal opinion is that anything is better than white pants. For many reasons that I will not get into.

The Mellow Mushroom down the street from my office finally opened up this week, so we went by for lunch today - pretty standard MM pizza, and pretty good service. I am looking forward to the long weekend. I have more ARE studying to do, and DH and I plan to head downtown for a break tomorrow to watch the Dragon*Con parade (that's some great people-watching there!), so I should have some good photos from that. Sunday we plan to stop by the Decatur Book Festival, as one of my fave comic strip creators, Patrick McDonnell of Mutts fame, will be in the Children's area on Sunday at noon. Might actually take some of my Mutts books to see if I can get a least one signed!

Oh, I forgot to mention my WIP update - I did finish my wedding present for C&M last Sunday (the closing day of the Olympics, no less!), but I now need to clean it, then figure out how I will package it and mail it to Denmark. I have photos, but don't want to spoil the surprise until C&M get it, so photos later. But I will say that I was very pleased with how it turned out!

Nap Cat

It's a cloudy in Atlanta, threatening rain for the last 2 days thanks to Fay, but still no rain here in Marietta. The lack of sun has made it feel like an especially lazy day, yet with much to do! I went by the Marietta Square Farmer's Market this morning - next Saturday is the last market of the season, so I am sad to see it ending so soon. I love that the prices are so much better than the supermarkets. Thoth is napping in the middle of our guest bed as I type (that's him perking up a little when I sat on the bed to take a photo) - it is best to let sleeping kitties lie.

I am so glad that NBC finally showed something besides swimming and track - as amazing as they are to watch, I was really hoping to see some soccer, table tennis (which I finally saw the last 2 games of the women's singles gold medal match this afternoon!), and other sports. They did show the finals for sychronized swimming today, so that was something different. Hard to believe the closing ceremonies are tomorrow night!

So excited to finally see some of Cyndi and Matt's wedding photos online from their wedding photographer, Kristi. Here's a link to her blog: http://thekristi.blogspot.com/2008/08/cyndi-matt.html. That means all the photos are soon to follow - YAY! C&M should have returned to Denmark from their two week honeymoon in Italy yesterday, so looking forward to hearing about their adventures.

DH and I will be going to the GT Football Kick-off Banquet tonight, so maybe I'll have a picture of me and Buzz to post tomorrow!

Dairy King

Thoth seems to have a dairy radar. I guess most cats would just call it a keen sense of smell. But whenever DH or I get any type of dairy product out of the fridge, like vanilla ice cream or a glass of milk, he becomes a stalker. I am impressed because sometimes he comes out of a nap in the woodwork to a glass of milk. And how in the world does he know it's a glass of milk and not OJ? Anyway, those that know Thoth know that he's not much of a lap cat and is usually only motivated to be petted more than once if it involves treats or his wet food in the evening. He will follow us to wherever we are going and proceed to stare at us (or shall I say the container with the dairy product), licking lips, and looking generally hopeful. Being the softies we are, he usually gets to lick what is left in the container. Not much. My sis gave me a great Dr. Seuss mug for Christmas last year. What's great about it is that it has a big diameter opening. This makes putting the cat head WAYYY down to the bottom of the mug possible. Now this is what I have been *trying* to capture in a photo, but my camera has not been cooperative (flash is WAY too slow), so here are other pics that should suffice to illustrate in the meantime. One day I'll have that Nikon D80 that can take a couple of shots per second!

As an aside, I learned today that trampolining is an Olympic sport! You can seriously get a medal for jumping on a trampoline? Huh? (Yes, I know that they are truly better athletes, than me!)

WIPs - part 3

Here are the finished photos of the baby blanket I made for John and Susan. Baby gender is yet to be determined (although I think it's a girl), so that's why it's in sort of neutral colors. It turned out pretty well - I got to play with the fancy stitches on my sewing machine for the binding, and also got to use the serger machine that I have on loan from Cyndi (thanks, Cyn!) while she is in Denmark to bind the raw edges of the blanket before putting on the binding. Quick tip for a fast and easy blanket is to pick a fabric with squares on it for one side. As you can see from the numbers side, this made the quilting process pretty fast. I need to make one of these for myself!

WIPs - part 2

So here are the little projects I am working on. The first one up there that Thoth is helping me with is a baby blanket. The numbers side is cotton, the green side with bugs is flannel. That was when I had pinned the sandwich together, and last night I was able to quilt it all together, so all that is left is the blanket binding, which will be yellow. The bottom three are from the Debbie Mumm Noah's Ark of Animals fabric panel book. I ended up putting some batting into the cover section, but just interfacing for the inside pages. These are sewn and turned right-side-out, but I still need to whipstitch the openings closed from turning them out. I'll get finished pics of the blanket up this weekend. Looking forward to my showers tomorrow - I hope the recipients like their gifts. And happy 8-8-8 day! I can finish up my projects while watching the Opening Ceremonies tonight!

Everything's better with cheese

I don't know what it is, but I am on the constant search for a good cracker. I know at least since college when I had to keep snacking in order to pull off long nights in architecture studio have I been on the search for the perfect cracker. Old favorites include Keebler Toasteds, Cheez-its, fresh saltines and Triscuits. Some must go with a particular thing. For instance, Toasteds with my friend Cole's cheese dip, or Triscuits with slices of Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese. My new favorite Triscuit is the deli-style rye. They go especially well with slices of sharp white cheddar. And then the newest favorite is Wisecrackers Roasted Garlic with rosemary. Actually, it should be called Rosemary (with a little roasted garlic), in my opinion. One of my co-workers had a box of these at her desk one day, and after offering me one to try, she had me hooked on them! The only place I have found them in these parts is at Trader Joe's. Being that they are from Washington State, this makes sense. Anyway, check them out if you have a Trader Joe's near you. These go well with olive spreads and prosciutto, or just plain by themselves!
http://www.partnerscrackers.com/partnersframeset.html
http://www.partnerscrackers.com/wc411lg.html

WIPs and UFOs

So my crafty friends are familiar with these terms: WIP - works in progress, UFO - unfinished objects. They refer to those oh-so-exciting projects that you pick up, only to find yourself perhaps a little less interested the next week, then forgetting about it on and off the next week, then it gets under a pile of other stuff and it's left your mind completely. I decided about a month ago that I had several showers coming up and somehow decided to make gifts for all three. One is a wedding present that I am not going to reveal much about just yet (even though the wedding happened two weeks ago and they are currently on a plane to Denmark), but they already know that it is going to make it to them via airmail. I will say that I am very excited about how it is turning out, and friend's former roommate saw it and approved of my work so far. I started it about a month ago, and have finished everything but the border, so I will post pictures of it once they get it in the mail. The other two are baby shower projects - one blanket and one fabric panel book. Hope to get them both done by Saturday, as both showers are on Saturday! Ha! So hopefully these WIPs won't become UFOs...

In other news, our downstairs room continues to dry out. The dehumidifier we bought last week is working like a champ. We cleaned up more gutters last weekend and did more work in the yard, so hopefully that helps improve the yard drainage if more showers pop up this week. Two waterproofing contractors have come out and priced the work within $50 of each other - amazingly close estimates! So I hope we'll get this taken care of this month. Also, a old Tech friend and an aunt of above newly-wedded-moving-to-Denmark friend have both been diagnosed with cancer in the last week, so my thoughts and prayers are with both of them as they begin their treatments.

When it rains, it pours...

...into our downstairs room, that is. There appears to be a waterproofing breach at the exterior wall next to our lower den that is daylit. Each time we've gotten one of the famous Atlanta afternoon downpours in the last two weeks, there has been a delayed flow of water from the exterior wall, through our den, into the garage. So, now that I am back to reality this week, we have two different waterproofing contractors coming over at the end of this week to have a look. Wish us luck - we are bracing for the worst, and so is our bank account. Bye-bye, stimulus check for sure...

In other news, I was thrilled to find out at work today that my name has been published into a book on Atlanta architecture! It's on page 202 of City by Design - an architectural perspective of atlanta! I am listed as part of the architecture team on the World of Coca-Cola, and a beautiful photo of it is on the cover, too! I am very happy for my firm and the team, as they deserved some credit after all of our hard work on this building: http://www.panache.com/CBD/cbd_atlanta.html.

And then the news of our dear former Tech baseball player, Mark Teixeira, getting traded to the Anaheim was sad news, but I hope that he does well with the Angels. I'll miss getting to see him at the Braves games, as he was my current favorite. :(

Wedding Weekend

Whew! Well I made it through the week and completed my matron of honor duties for Cyndi and Matt's Wedding. All went well - the bride and groom were beautiful, the wedding was beautiful, and the reception was beautiful. I am so happy for Cyndi and Matt, and also excited for their adventures ahead, as they leave for Denmark in a week and half to live for the next year as Matt finishes grad school there. I am really going to miss them! I was WAY to busy to get any actual shots on the big day, but here's a photo from the rehearsal and me after the wedding - showing off my makeup, 'do, and the beautiful Swarovski bridesmaid necklaces that Cyndi made for us. Hopefully better photos to come soon. Time to get a load off my poor feet and rest up for this week!

Seattle!

Seattle!

We spent a fabulous week in Seattle! The weather was perfect and cool for the most part - a very enjoyable break from the Atlanta heat. We got to see a lot of sights, and of course enjoyed the family reunion aspect and my cousin's wedding! For more photos, click on me and DH above. We stayed in a rented house just north of the University of Washington campus, known as the University, or U-District. We were able to walk around their beautiful campus several times and enjoy the neighborhood farmer's market on Saturday morning. Some of the sights we got to visit include: Seattle Center, the Space Needle (didn't go up), Snoqualmie Falls, North Bend (home of where Twin Peaks was filmed), Everett Boeing Plant, Experience Music Project/Sci-Fi Museum, Olympic Sculpture Park, Bellevue Botanical Garden, Seattle Public Library, The Chapel of St. Ignatius (outside only), The Edgewater Hotel (where my cousin's wedding was held), just to name a few spots. We did a great walking tour on Friday evening with a private tour guide that one of my cousins arranged - that was great too. I really enjoyed spending time with cousins on my Mom's side - all 8 of us were able to make it this time. And on top of all that, we managed to look up one of our GT classmates and have dinner with him and his wife. They joined us on the walking tour too and learned a few things about Seattle that they didn't know. Anyway, now back in the heat of the Atlanta summer and wishing I was back in 70-degree weather...

Our House - B&B

We've had a slew of visitors this past week, including my parents this past weekend and DH's Aunt Marjanne and Uncle Tim passing through town Tuesday night. Marjanne and Tim are so fun and always a joy to visit with. We enjoyed a nice dinner with them at Willie Rae's on the Square and had some friendly Wii competition back at the house. We went to visit them in Pensacola last year, just after we got the Civic. They liked it so much, as you can see, that they got one this year for themselves! Gotta love a happy customer! :)

Looking forward to the weekend when we take off for Seattle. Good times ahead, and boy do I need a vacation!

Show me the money!

Well, we got a teaser letter from the IRS about a week ago saying that we should expect our stimulus check sometime in the next month or two. I was starting to feel like we were never going to get our check, especially since a lot of our friends and family have already gotten theirs. DH checked the mail yesterday night when we got home, and there it was! I was very excited, but I have no idea what we're going to do with it. Being that we'll be in Seattle next week, most of it will probably get spent there. Whee - easy come, easy go!

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July, Everyone!

We kicked off our day by waking up dark and early to get DH to the MARTA station for the Peachtree Road Race. He did great - that's his during and after shots and us spectating! SIL and SIL's boyfriend were on hand to help cheer on the crowd. We also sat next to a lady with the *CUTEST* Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Cody, who was so good and barked along with us whenever we cheered. It sold me even more on what a great dog Corgis are. He was so friendly and had no problem sitting right between me and Jennifer in our camping chairs.

Planning to see the Marietta fireworks tonight. Now that I have a tripod, I am hoping to take some better fireworks photos this year. Hope everyone has a fun and safe weekend!

Habits

As I have worked about 70 hours this past week, a lot of it waiting on large files to download, upload, etc., for this enormous project that we are doing at work, I haven't had much spare time to do anything interesting other than buy toilet paper and kitty litter from Target. (Exciting, I know.) As I twiddle my thumbs waiting on my computer, I recalled a funny happening from about 2 months ago as I was visiting a small town in Georgia with my project manager to discuss a new state patrol post with a bunch of state troopers. As the custom in many small towns (at least in Georgia, I think), lunchtime eventually rolls around and it's time to get something to eat. The local Ryan's buffet apparently is the place to go, since everyone should be able to find something that they will eat there. As PM and I get seated, accompanied by, oh, say at least 5 troopers in uniform, the waitress comes by with our yeast rolls and invites us to "go on up and help yourself to the buffet." Some of the guys had already gotten a salad, so as I get up, I habitually take my purse with me. This is something Mom taught me, and of course living in the big city you have to take your purse with you if get up to go anywhere. I get my first plate, sit back down, and PM leans over and jokes that my purse would probably have been okay for the 5 minutes I was up, being that it was surrounded by 5 uniforms. I sheepishly say, yes, he's probably right, but it's habit. Some of the troopers overheard and we had a good laugh about it. :) That's my story for the day. Next weekend should be much more exciting, as my parents and SIL and her boyfriend will be in town for the 4th. And DH will be running the Peachtree!