Photo shoot with Thoth

Instead of talking about how I smelled gas in the house the other day, and DH got the demo guys to look at it, and they found a leak in the hot water heater and shut off the gas, and the gas company came to look at it and gave us a list of 3 things to fix before they turn the gas back on, and so we had no hot water or heat last night (not so bad, really), I thought I would entertain you with my attempt of self-portrait with cat last night...

Take 1: I'm looking at the camera. Thoth doesn't know what's going on, and he definitely didn't make it into the frame.
Take 2: Okay, I pointed the camera down a little more, got more of the cat in, but my hair fell in my face. Thoth still doesn't know what's going on.

Take 3: Thoth managed to struggle his way out of my arms and ran upstairs. Attempt to take one while he was on the bed. He knows what's going on now, and choosing not to look at the blasted flash box that mom is shoving in his face. Typical cat.
Take 4: This one got deleted. Cat was all over the place, I was laughing and had my eyes shut. Best not to share.

Take 5: DH came in to see what was going on, offered to take photo for us. Honestly, probably the best of the bunch. (Goes to show that sometimes it's just easier to ask for help.) I call this my "Wilson" portrait.

Take 5: Last attempt. Cat reluctantly obliges one last time before drinking water out of the faucet in the bathroom. He's definitely got that look - geez, are we done yet?

I'm hoping the gas situation is resolved by the time I get home from work, *fingers crossed*...

Same old, same old

Sorry for the lack of blogging (although sometimes I don't think there's anyone reading this blog, anyway), but there has not been too much to report. DH was released from his contract at work due to lack of work, so he's been at home working on the house. It's really been a blessing in disguise, since he's been able to be there to supervise the demo, deal with the insurance adjustor, and get plumbing quotes for the drainage line that is going to need to be replaced between the house and the street. Joy. But at least I'm not having to take off from work here and there to meet people at the house for all this. So at this point, the insurance company has taken care of the demo for the most part, and given us a check for the replacement value of refinishing the den. Now we need to get the pipe fixed. Then we can put everything back. We'll get it done eventually...

We spent a great, low-key weekend with my SIL in Charlotte last weekend. Got to try 2 new breakfast places in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood - John's and Zada Jane's Corner Cafe. Both were great. Our waitress at John's (Greek-owned breakfast diner) looked just like Julianne Nicholson and was super-sweet. We had super service, and enjoyed our pancakes and grilled biscuits. I was also introduced to their cheeseburger omelette, which is exactly what it sounds like, minus the lettuce, ketchup, and mustard! Zada Jane's also had great pancakes, and we also tried their "Vegless Avenger" - a very clever name for an all-meat omelette. A superhero omelette it was, indeed! The rest of the time, we kind of chilled at her house, did laundry, played Wii, and hung out with her BF and BF's dachshund, Eli. Looking forward to a low-key week ahead, with my next ARE (Mech/Elec) coming up a week from Saturday!

Christmas in February

We spent a great weekend in Aiken (SC) visiting with my parents and sister. It was sort of a late Christmas gathering, as DS decided not to fly home during her New Year's holiday due to unreasonable airfare. Actually, it was nice to celebrate on such a wonderfully warm weekend, and in fact, my parents proposed that we just start celebrating it later, as a Christmas/Chinese New Year get-together, which sounds great to me! We spent most of Friday evening catching up, playing Wii, eating our traditional Chinese hot pot dinner (aka Chinese fondue), and of course, exchanging gifts. Saturday was so warm, we went wandering around downtown Aiken to see the shops and what's changed since last we were home, and then took a walk through Hopeland Gardens. We took some very nice family photos, thanks to the nice sunshine! Here are some of the shots, and also the very nice earrings by Jennifer Chin/Lush Metals that my DS gave me - thanks, Sis!

PASS #3 and #4!

I went into my local Prometric at the crack of dawn this morning to take my Building Planning test. It was definitely not as bad as I thought it was going to be, and I can pretty confidently say that I think I passed, barring some huge, unforseen something that I might have overlooked. After my 5:45 hour test, I ran home to grab some late lunch, then headed into the office for the end of the day because there was something I needed to check on for work. Opened my email, and lo and behold, my dear State of Georgia Professional Licensing Board contact had scanned and emailed me my last two score reports. I've been waiting over 11 weeks for the Building Technology one! Anyway, I am pleased to report PASS #3 in Building Technology and PASS #4 in Building Design/Materials & Methods. I am actually a little sad that I have finished the three graphics ones - to me they were easier to study for than the multiple-choice ones. Four down, one score in wait, and four more multiple-choice ones to go...

We'll be coming 'round the mountain when we come

DH and I enjoyed a fun, short hike up Kennesaw Mountain yesterday. It was a beautiful day, one of the few sunny weekend days we've had in awhile. I needed a break from studying, and I've been wanting to do some hiking in the Kennesaw Mountain area. We started with the shortest hike - 1 mile up and 1 mile back down. The hike starts from the Visitor's Center, and ends up at the peak. It was steep in parts, but no steeper than other GA mountain hikes that we've been on. We got about three chances to see the Atlanta skyline on the way up. In this photo, we're at the parking lot rail near the peak that you can drive up to. (We hiked to this point, of course.) It was sort of nice to see a lot of other people hiking, too. In fact, there were no cars parked in this upper lot when we got there. Above my head is the downtown Atlanta skyline, and if you look straight up from DH's right ear, there's a mound in the distance - Stone Mountain. Just up from the upper parking lot, there are a few more stairs and a path up to take you to the actual peak. We found the U.S. Geological Survey pin, and then headed back down. I forgot to time us going up, but it took about 25 minutes for us to get back down. We enjoyed a little picnic with homemade chicken salad sandwiches, then headed home. We'll have to try one of the other trails next time.