2011, Week 33

This was another crazy busy week at work - the first full week of school, lots of major projects needing attention, and software training on three different days. Whew! On wednesday it felt like friday, so that made the week even longer. On a bright note, I started teaching the 8th grade New Testament class for the second year in a row, and I feel much more confident and am having a lot more dialogue with the students in class. I think I will enjoy this group of kids. But preparing for class + work + trying to write a dissertation wears me out. I'm so thankful for my sweet puppy who makes me smile and want to play when I come home each afternoon. I love this pic I snapped of me and Brodie and fixed up with a new cellphone app.

2011, Week 32

The big event this week, other than the start of school, was Brodie's birthday (which is really the anniversary of the day I adopted him). Happily, his birthday was on Saturday so I could spend the day with him. What was amazing is that I woke up about 5:00 am to the sound of RAIN! It had been almost 2 months since we'd seen rain, so it was so great to hear! It was still relatively cool when we got up, so I took Brodie on a long walk along the canals - he loved it! I know he's ready for fall so we can resume our walk schedule. That afternoon I took him to PetSmart to pick out a toy (I replaced his favorite froggie) and to Sonic where I treated him to some vanilla ice cream. I know, I spoil him! But hey, the vet said he could stand to gain a couple of pounds, so it didn't hurt. The rest of the weekend was spent writing, and then the week was full of two long days of faculty inservice, New Family Orientation, a LONG day of work on Saturday, the first two days of school, and Convocation. I was SOOOOO ready for the coming weekend!

2011, Week 31

Another crazy busy week. I led a praise team mini-camp with the Cambridge praise team, getting ready for chapel and Convocation. I ran the tax-free book-sale day for all the Cambridge families to purchase books. And I had so many other tasks to complete at work. It was insane! In the evenings, I was so tired that I got nothing done. But in the midst of all the insanity that was wrapped up with work, one of the moms (who also owns a westie) brought Brodie a collar which she made out of a Cambridge tie. It is adorable! And he looks so handsome in it - ready to go cheer on the Lions at the first soccer game.

2001, Week 30

Whew, what a week! I jumped back into work with both feet, full-steam ahead and never looked back. It was BUSY! I came home each day wondering why I came back from vacation. It didn't help that Texas in in the middle of a major heat wave - friday was day 35 in a row of over 100° temps, crazy! Two days in a row we made it to 110, ugh. Brodie was depressed, missing Harley and his Gammy, and going crazy being cooped up in the house because I just couldn't stand to walk him in those temps. So on Thursday evening I invited his friend Leeloo over to play with him. She was here nearly 3 hours and they had a blast. I was so glad to see my boy having a good time after being so bored and sad. I can't wait for fall!

2011, Week 29

The second week of my vacation was a "staycation" at my parents' house in GA. We spent hours relaxing in the pool, played countless games of marbles, shopped, laughed at the dogs' antics, and enjoyed one another's company. Mom and Dad had a lot of fun adventures planned too. On Monday we took the jetski out to the lake, where we all got lots of sun and Dad tried his hardest to throw me off the tube. On Tuesday we enjoyed a zipline adventure where we zipped down 12 lines of various heights, lengths, and speeds (so cool!). Wednesday we celebrated Mom's birthday, and Thursday we went to the Braves game where they were soundly beaten by the Pirates. It was a week full of family fun, and I was very sad to see it end. (I'll do multiple posts about the week on my other blog.)

2011, Week 28

Week one of my vacation - I headed down to Orlando, FL to meet up with my good friend, Amie, who I hadn't seen since I left Scotland 4 years ago. She was temporarily living in FL, so it was a perfect opportunity to see Amie and get to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, something we were both anxious to do. I arrive in FL on Monday afternoon and we quickly went to see the final HP movie - I really enjoyed it, Amie wasn't too pleased but she's never been a fan of the movies. On Tuesday morning we headed out to DeLand, FL to have brunch with my seminary friend Nicki and her two boys, 8-month-old Micah and nearly-5-year-old Jonah. I've been following Nicki's blog about Jonah since I was in Scotland (she jokes that I'm a stalker). After brunch, Nicki and Jonah joined Amie and me at New Smyrna Beach, where we played in the waves, walked on the beach, caught up with one another, and refreshed in the pool. It was an amazing day with two good friends and one adorable little boy. The next day was our WWoHP experience at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure. Let me tell you, it was HOT! and crowded! To be completely honest, at some points it was rather miserable. But the Harry Potter part of the park was so cool, and I thoroughly enjoyed that aspect. Overall, my vacation in FL was a brilliant success - I got to visit an amazing theme park, meet two precious boys, and catch up with two amazing women who I am blessed to have as friends.

2011, Week 27

It was a week of preparation and anticipation. I knew that on Friday I was finally leaving on my summer vacation, and I couldn't wait! I worked hard at school Monday thru Thursday, finishing as many major projects as I could, trying to make things as easy as possible for my time away. But the whole time I was just biding my time til I could drive out of town. The first stop on my vacation was going to be my grandparents' house in Alabama, which meant that I would be taking a completely new 11-hour route for me, through Memphis. Brodie and I headed out about 7:00 Friday morning and made really good time, making it to Mamaw's around 6:00 that evening. Brodie was a great travel buddy, chewing on his toys and sticking his head out the window when I would roll it down in the small towns. We had lots of sunshine, some heavy downpours, and even a rainbow on the drive, and arrived in Madison to a steady rain and mid 70s - downright cool compared to the 100+ Texas days. Mamaw was thrilled to meet Brodie, and he quickly fell in love with her too. I love this pic of them (of course he had to wear his Bama bandana to meet his Bama-loving great-grandmother).