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!

Watch-less

At the end of last week, I noticed that I had developed a strange scabby spot on my left arm, right underneath my watch face, which I wear every day. Not sure what caused it, but on advisement from my doc sis, she recommended trying some hydrocortisone on it, which seems to have helped. The first two days, I was constantly looking down at my wrist to check the time, and it was literally a hair past a freckle, no watch there. I sort of missed my one piece of everyday jewelry. Well, okay, second to my wedding ring set. And it is a very nice Seiko given to me for college graduation by my now deceased grandmother, which I now have had for about 11 years (has it really been that long??), and it is still ticking away like a champ (free plug for Seiko...). Still watch-less for almost a week now, I find that I am no longer really missing it. I'm wondering if this will help reduce stress in my life? If I really need to know the time, I look at the bottom corner of my computer screen or check my cell phone. Or the silly Microsoft Outlook reminder pops up for a scheduled meeting. Do I really need a watch anymore? What do you folks out there do to keep the time?

PASS #1!

Great news - I got my pass letter in the mail (FINALLY) today for Site Planning!! YAY! It only took almost the entire 8 weeks (they tell you 6-8 weeks on the graphics sections) - I was getting ready to start making some phone calls if I didn't hear this week...

So this means I stay the course on test version 3.1. Which means I should probably aim to take all of the other sections at least once (and hopefully only once) before Dec 15th, so I can make sure I have the six-month cushion in case I have to retake a section before the test changes completely over in June 2009. Otherwise I would have to convert to the new test, which might mean retaking certain portions entirely. But I am not going to do that!

1 down, 8 to go... Back to the books...

Happy B-Day, D-vid!

We had a great time at Dave & Buster's last night celebrating David's birthday. Friends Cyndi, Rachel, Steph and Muddy were on hand to join in the festivities. We all had dinner then hit the Midway for some fun and games. Passing through the Winner's Circle, we noticed that you could get Wii games for 7900 points. Well, we already had over 6000 saved up on my Power Card from a few years back when we tried to get the enormous pirate Kermit the Frog for Cyndi, but alas it was gone before we could win it. So, our efforts for the night ended up getting us The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess! Happy Birthday, Honey!

Live Music Matters!

It's a phrase I saw once on an Eddie's Attic t-shirt - kind of regretting that I didn't get it now, because it is something that I really believe in. DH and I went to see The Breeders live on Friday night as an early birthday event for him. I have to be honest and say that I was not one of the many die-hard Breeders fans in line, waiting to get a front row standing spot (it was general admission, standing room only), who had followed Kim Deal through The Pixies and attended at least two previous Breeders concerts on this tour and knew all of the lyrics (ATL was the final stop on the tour). Nor am I as into alternative rock as DH, but I certainly appreciate it, and like some artists more than others. Prior to this concert, I could probably only tell you some of the words of Cannonball, and even then, some of it was my own made-up lyrics (I REALLY thought "in the shade" sounded more like "hippie shake"). But in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, even though my legs and feet were killer by the end of the night, and I have to say that this was once of the best ever live concerts that I have ever been to. Kim and Kelley Deal were a delight to watch in real person, ladies that truly looked like they were enjoying playing the music for themselves more than playing for the audience - sisters goofing off and rocking out in their living room, and there just also happens to be a couple hundred people watching, too. That's a rarity these days, especially at the last concert of a tour! Seeing and hearing Cannonball live made the entire thing totally worth it. We listened to the Last Splash CD in the car all weekend on the way up to Knoxville. It was not until the way back Sunday afternoon that we decided it was time to take it out before we really got sick of it. Those girls really made that concert a special event, and I was so glad to be able to be a part of it, front and center, only 4-people-deep back!

Mish Mash

Hmmm...lots of different things going on this week...where to start?

The GT CRC upgraded their turnstiles magnetized proximity scanners, so DH and I had to go by the Buzz Card office to upgrade our Tech IDs to new ones with the chip. So we finally got to go work out tonight. My right side is a little sore, probably from trying to get the lawn mower started the other day, so I took it easy on the arm weights.

More flowers in the yard have started to bloom. My pink wild roses have developed their typical black spots on the leaves after the first bloom, but I have not had time to investigate why that is. It seems to happen every year. The blue hydrangeas are still going full force, and the greenish white ones have leaves growing like kudzu, but they won't bloom until a little later. And the small gardenias started blooming this week in the front yard - they smell heavenly!

A new project I decided to start (like I need another UFO!) is to create a professional portfolio of my work since getting out of grad school. I realized that I don't really have any documentation of the projects that I have worked on in the last 8 years, so I started a few layouts and got a little portfolio binder at Sam Flax at their Spring Fling sale a few weekends ago. Maybe when I get one of the spreads done, I'll post it.

We're planning a visit to Knoxville this weekend to meet up with MIL, SFIL, SIL, and SIL's BF at SFIL's brother's house (did I lose you yet?) and to start celebrating DH's bday a little early. We got tickets to see The Breeders at The Loft to kick off his bday week. Not sure yet what we'll be doing on his actual bday. We got a dine around card from Buckhead Life again this year, and June is Veni Vedi Vici, so that's a potential outing. Gift suggestions for DH are welcome!

Oh, and for laughs, I shared this link with Cyndi today, thanking her for not making us wear saloon dresses for her wedding: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/06/11/bridesmaid.dresses/index.html?iref=newssearch (click on pic 2) . She kicked an email forward back to me that essentially showed something like this: http://jeffersonian.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/redneck-wedding.jpg. Yes, I am thankful to be wearing this dress: http://www.venusbridal.com/detail.php?did=59 (sapphire blue dress with light blue sash).

Two-movie Weekend

I had a rare two-movie weekend this weekend! Friday night, I went to see Sex in the City with some TBS alums. Although I was never an outright fan (being that we still do not have cable) but have seen a few of the re-runs on TBS (enough to know the main characters and their personalities), I really enjoyed the movie! I didn't go into it with any expectations, but I have to say that it had me teared up starting in the middle and on and off until the end! It just felt like I was watching a long episode. Anyway, I reco seeing it, and it is a great group chick flick! On Saturday, after spending the (HOT) morning outside at the Va-Hi Summerfest, we ducked into Tara to escape the afternoon heat with friends Val, Tim and Jimmy and saw Young @ Heart. It was a great documentary about a fun senior chorus group that sang rock and roll songs. It made me laugh and cry as well. Probably between the two, it was the most that I've laughed and cried in a single weekend ever. Also reco seeing that one, if you have a theatre around that's showing it.

On a side note, I STILL have not gotten back my test results from my 4/26 ARE - they say the conversions should be done by June 11, so I hope to hear sometime this week. I don't think I can schedule another one until I find out which test version track I am to take. Keep your fingers crossed!

A fun weekend celebrating Cyndi

I had a really fun time participating in my friend Cyndi's Bachelorette Weekend. Nikki (the other local bridesmaid) and I had a great time planning for the weekend and the bridal shower. In keeping with her travel theme for the wedding, I created a weekend "Party Passport" for her to document the various activities - I have to admit that I even impressed myself with the way it turned out! We started Friday night by seeing a movie and having a few drinks at Martinis and IMAX, then headed to Cyndi's fave Mexican place, Nuevo Laredo, for a late dinner with everyone else that came into town for the weekend. Saturday morning we held a brunch bridal shower at Agnes & Muriel's. As party favors, I found the cutest wedding dress cookies from Rhodes Bakery - that's Thoth up above, the cookie inspector, helping me put them into goodie bags Friday night. We then spent the afternoon on a photo scavenger hunt that DH put together for us that was a lot of fun. Saturday night we had dinner at a great Italian pizza restaurant, Fritti, then walked a block down to Dad's Garage for TheatreSports - their Saturday night improv show. Of course, with her blinky "Bride To Be" button and shiny silver "Bachlorette" sash (Miss America-style), she could not be missed. They saved the best for last and called Cyndi up on stage for one of the last improv skits - "A Day in the Life of Cyndi," and I laughed so hard I cried! The actors were so great - we had a really great time. Sunday we attended church with Cyndi at St. Paul , where she and Matt will be married, and then headed south of town for the last day of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. It was hot, but fun and a great way to end the weekend. I'm going to bed early tonight!