14 posts tagged “travel”
Mostly this is me waving to you saying Hi from the blog world. :)
I so love being able to burn CDs now. I just burned a couple for my mom...one of a playlist I made back in December, and one I made today. I hope she likes them, or at least finds a song or two that she likes on them.
Also, yes, I am procrastinating. I need to do the dishes. I also need to vacuum, but can't do that until Daisy wakes up. It would be rude to wake up a sleeping cat.
Travel coming up: leaving tomorrow for the last (!) Murfreesboro/Franklin teaching run. Heading to Winston-Salem on May 15, and then riding with Kate to Richmond for the weekend of May 16-17. Busch Gardens!!! Babysitting Alex at my grandparents' house from May 27-June 2, and then leaving on June 13 for LA. Will be spending time in LA, San Diego, and Las Vegas. Sooooo looking forward to that vacation!
It's been a crazy winter. Lots going on, and I found myself lost in deep thought more than I care to remember. Trust me, there have been good things, but also things for me to reflect on.
Enough about that. It's Spring!! Trees are blooming, the tulips and daffodils are coming out, and except for the frigid (40-something) weather today, Spring has been glorious.
Today was my first ever 5K! I finished, I didn't die (or even hurt too terribly bad), and I wasn't last place. ;) My time was 49:46.4 doing a walk/jog combo. I was hoping for under 45 minutes, but I'll take under 50. Next time I'm going to work on beating my time, and eventually I want to jog an entire 5K. Heck, maybe I'll do the half-marathon one day. Time will tell...
Update on TV stuffs: I've started watching Life, and absolutely love it. LOVE it. Still watching Lost, as I figure I need to stick it out at this point. I've pretty much given up on Heroes. Gossip Girl is crazy fun as always. I'm curious to see how Biggest Loser turns out. And I've also been watching Dollhouse. I didn't like it much at first, but it's finally starting to come together better. I'll stick it out until Fox cancels it (which given how Fox treats Joss Whedon shows on Friday nights, it won't be long...). Oh, and 24 has been amazingly awesome again this season.
I've got some more travel coming up. Visiting my brother and some friends next weekend, then conferencing and visiting family in Nashville the next week. I love spending Easter with my sister, as it means coloring eggs and watching her hunt them.
Sadly, I won't get to go to the upcoming MLA conference in Honolulu. But I've got a SoCal/Vegas vacation planned for June, so I will get some beach time before too long. :)
Happy New Year, everyone! 2008 was a terrific year for me, and 2009 promises to be better. This is the year that my weight will finally get to good. I'm going to do at least one 5K. I'll be graduating from EfM in May. And I'll likely start ballet lessons in the fall.
Of course I have travel plans already. I'm hoping to have my trip to Hawaii approved (for the MLA conference). I'll also be making a trip west in June to visit friends in SoCal (LA and San Diego) and will be making a side trip to Vegas for a friend's birthday party. Yay!
I do have some resolutions. They're pretty boring, so I'm not going to list them all here. Overall, today I'm in a better place than I was this time last year on so many fronts. It's going to be a fantastic year!
Finally, a quote from the awesome Neil Gaiman:
...I
hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and
outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you
made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that
you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most
importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more
wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be
wise, and that you will always be kind.
I just now got caught up with reading posts in my neighborhood, and realized that I haven't written since 9/21. Oops.
Not that a whole lot is happening. Mostly, I work, workout (either gym or walking), tidy up the apartment, and go to bed. But I have had some fun in the past couple of months as well.
First of all, baby shower pictures (8/31/08) Here are pics of the blankie:
And then the recipient with the blankie:
It was a fun weekend, and a good way to have some fun before starting the pre-op liquid diet.
Since I last posted, I had a really fun trip to St. Louis to visit my friend Erin and her pets. We saw the zoo and the sculpture garden, and naturally I forgot my camera. Oh well!
I went to the TN/AL game last night, which had a sad outcome, but I still had fun at the game. The week before, my dad and I went to the TN/Miss St. game, which was fun and had an excellent outcome. For those keeping track, this means I've been to three football games this season, which is a personal record! I'm happy to just get to one game per season.
As it's getting later, and I have to be up early tomorrow (heading to the SC/MLA conference in Birmingham, AL), I'm quickly running out of stuff to talk about. So, I'll leave you with a picture that is my current Facebook profile pic, and one I've had compliments on (gotta love the webcam at work!):
p.s. I voted this week--be sure to vote early or on November 4!
It's been a little while since my last trip. I think my last out-of-state trip was the jaunt to Columbus back in December. Now I'm about to go to pumaviking's wedding in Western Massachusetts. Western Mass. just sounds cold. As in brrrrr!
I've got a packing list made, and will be wearing warm clothing. A bunch of my friends will be there, and I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone again. While I just saw some people in December, it's been much longer than that for others. Plus, this will be the first Jewish wedding that I've ever attended. All I know about Jewish weddings comes from seeing Charlotte get married on Sex and the City, so this will be a new experience for me.
Hmmm...what else is going on... I think only two other people reading this (that I know of, anyway) are watching The Biggest Loser this season. Tonight's episode...WOW. I'm not watching much more TV than that, and am looking forward to Thursday night stuff on NBC coming back next month. I am in need of an Office fix. I might break down and start watching them via Netflix Watch Now before long.
The big news in Knoxville today is that one of the hospitals (Baptist) is closing its inpatient services. At first I was thinking about how much this is going to affect my workplace...we're pretty much at capacity all the time as it is. But it's also not so great for the community as a whole, I think. Will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the next few months.
I've been contemplating joining Facebook. I don't know what's stopping me, other than just being too lazy to do it.
My orthodontist is now saying "summer" as to when I'll get these braces off. Sigh.
I'm super close to having an article ready to submit for publication. I'm working on the final edits and getting the format just right. That's quite a feat. :)
I'm going to visit friends in DC the weekend of June 6. Hooray! I haven't been to DC since July 2006. I am looking forward to exploring the city again. I need to be sure to see what kind of exhibits are going on (last time the Muppets were at one of the Smithsonians!). And, of course, I need to arrange for a dinner at Jaleo. I just looked at their online menu, and they still have my favorite tapas. Mmm...deep fried nuggets of joy...
I think that's all for now. I'll be sure to take pictures this weekend!
Back home now and I am quite tired. Whew, what a fun weekend!!!
I didn't take many pictures, but Liz (fauxmiddlechild) was kind enough to send me a few that she took.
The trip started with a road trip to Columbus. Aside from some rain and bantering with Kentucky people, it was an uneventful trip. Here is a picture of my companion, Carson the Road Trip Penguin.
Liz took this picture from the backseat in Columbus. I was driving, and that's Kate in the passenger seat. I don't remember where we were going. :)
On Saturday, a few of the weary travelers posed for a picture while waiting on more of our friends to get to town. Please note that Saturday was our optional "wear your team's college sweatshirt" day.
Saturday night much fun was had with dinner at Rebecca's (Food/Crafts/Books Girl) house. We couldn't come to a complete consensus, so half the group ordered Chinese and the other half ordered pizza. Then we had an outing to the infamous Jeni's, quite likely the best ice cream on the planet. I had the "Trio" with a scoop of each Salty Caramel, Kentucky Bourbon Eggnog, and Torrone (the Torrone was my favorite!). After that we played Apples to Apples, and I won! It must be beginner's luck, as it was my first time playing the game.
The Holiday Open House on Sunday was great. There was tons of food and even more people! Here's a picture of a few of us in the "back room":
On Monday, after breakfast at First Watch, Liz and I had some time before going to Easton. Here I am with some sweet potatoes at Trader Joe's (a store I love, and the closest one to me is in Atlanta!) and Liz and I posing by a phone booth, just for fun:
I'm off to Columbus, OH tomorrow for a fun weekend! I was invited to Food/Crafts/Books Girl's annual Holiday Open House. I imagine she'll post about it at some point, as she's making a lot of food!
I'm so excited about seeing her again and a few more of my friends. Yes, there will be pictures.
Speaking of pictures, here are some new ones of the kittens. They were actually taken last weekend when they were 8 days old. I should be getting more pics on Monday...hopefully with their little eyes open!
* Last night my iPod died. It's a pink mini that I bought in May 2005, just before going to San Antonio for MLA. When I turned it on I just got the sad iPod face. Very sad, indeed.
* If I get some Christmas money this year, I think I'll buy an iPod shuffle. I primarily used Pretty Pink iPod for working out (and some during travel) so the shuffle should work fine for me.
* I think Wednesdays will be my download-pics-and-blog-about-them day. I let pictures just sit on the digital camera for too long. I've been thinking about (and actually *writing down*) some daily schedule stuff for myself in an attempt to be better organized with my time and complete various projects.
* My sourdough starter seems to be losing some umph. Anyone with sourdough bread experience, I may need your help in the near future. I have a couple of ideas that I'm going to try this weekend first.
* I'm really looking forward to seeing a few out-of-town friends in December. Yay holiday parties!
* I'm hungry. It must be time for my apple & string cheese snack. :)
Next week is going to be a vacation at home! I'm very much looking forward to having some down time.
I won't be at home the whole week, though. I'm going to be spending this weekend with my dad, stepmom, sister, and the puppy. I'm leaving today and will be back Monday. Tuesday is a free day, and I hope to get to hang out with a friend of mine from my undergrad days that I haven't seen in a couple of years. On Wednesday morning I'll be getting up early to drive to Atlanta. firerose818 and I are going to IKEA for the day. I've never been there, so I'm looking forward to that! I'll spend the night, then come back on Thursday. Aside from dinner plans on Thursday and Friday, I'm going to be chilling.
I imagine I won't be online quite as much as usual, as I plan on spending my time at home either cleaning or knitting. But I know I'll still be around and may have more time for commenting and such.
Yay vacation!
Show us something to look forward to.
I hope to visit England again after getting my braces off (sometime next year, I hope!). Here are a couple of pictures taken last time I was there.
This one was taken from the top of a church tower.
And this is a hedgehog that I met during my weekend in Colchester.
