Positivity Challenge: Day 3

For the third day of the Positivity Challenge, and my 3 positives for the day are:

1. Love and support from friends and family
2. An upcoming beach vacation to look forward to!
3. Getting my crafty time in with both the library stitch group and the IHOP stitch group in the same day

My current cross stitch project and another knit dishcloth

Gaudi

Since today's Google logo is celebrating Antoni Gaudi's 161st birthday, I dug up some pictures Mary and I took when we were in Europe in 2005.  Gaudi was a Spanish architect who produced some very unique works (think Salvador Dali with buildings).  On the left is the perpetually incomplete church, Sagrada Familia, on the right is is Park Güell, and in the middle are a couple more examples of Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona.  I would love to go back some day to take more time to see these again!

Counting My Blessings #7

Yes, I realize it's been three weeks since I last posted.  I have no better excuse than I am a slacker, but I'm still thankful for all the blessings so far this month!

• With all of the chaos up in Boston following the bombings at the marathon earlier this week, I'm praying that the extended families of my BIL Robert and soon-to-be BIL Paul up in Boston are okay and thanking God that my family is safe and sound
• A relaxing week of vacation at a Bed & Breakfast in Gatlinburg spoiled me with no work, no chores, and lots of together time with my husband!
• A Friday night out with the girls last week to catch up with friends I haven't seen in a while
• Continued progress on getting the house ready to sell--the ceiling fans have now been swapped out, there's an epic case of spackle spots throughout the house (still motivating myself to prime and paint), and the new kitchen faucet is in the mail
• A resurgence of my former band geek thanks to the band director where I work asking faculty and staff to volunteer to play for the encore song at the spring concert next week; I thought it would be a fun way to end my (almost) four years as Donor Relations Coordinator before we move this summer

 

Green Acres Middle School Charger Band

Counting My Blessings #3

1. Dad taught me how to install light fixtures all by myself without electrocuting myself nor burning down the house!
2. Our vacation to the Eight Gables Inn in Gatlinburg is booked, so now I have something to look forward to next month (besides my last day of work).
3. Wednesday morning, there were occasional snow flurries on the way to work.  It was such a peaceful feeling, like I was inside of a snow globe as I drove.
4. Last night, Dave and I had an impromptu dessert date to spend a little time together since his work hours are getting more insane closer to the end of their project.  We shared fried cheesecake at Buffalo's Cafe... nom nom nom!
5. In light of the current "Sede Vacante" in Rome, this AWESOME video taught me a few new things and made me giggle more than once:

Counting My Blessings #1

After an emotional rollercoaster of a week, I thought it might be nice to try a new weekly post for me to "count my blessings" instead of getting fixated on all of the unknowns that have been stressing me out lately.  It's a way for me to reflect on the positive things that made me smile this week.

1. Tea time with my favorite youngest sister last weekend and the smell of the new tea flavor I picked up while we were there: Mango Paradise 
2. I'm slowly swapping out all of our brass fixtures in preparation for putting the house on the market, and I managed to purchase all of the replacement light fixtures for inside our house for under $100--yay!
3. Adding a few books to my "to read" pile because of a discussion at Book Club: Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (no, I've never read this classic), Around the World in Eighty Days by Michael Palin (someone who actually traveled the route of the novel), and Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman (a fictional account of two female journalists racing to complete the book's journey)
4. Dave finally got his vacation approved!  Now I can actually make reservations at the Eight Gables Inn... if they get some spring specials posted soon ;-)
5. This text picture of my niece puppy, Layla.  I guess she was cold and tired, and I can totally relate!

Mommy, it's past my bedtime...

The Tomato Cafe & Tea Room

Dave and I just got back from a week-long beach vacation in Florida. Using the wonderful TeaMap Directory, I located a tea shop in Havana, about an hour north of our final destination.  We made a late afternoon stop at The Tomato Cafe & Tea Room on the drive down.  Dave tried a Gingerbread Creme black tea, and I ordered the Snickerdoodle black tea.

The verdict: Dave liked his tea, and I really wanted to like mine, too.  It smelled wonderful, but it tasted funny.  I realized the next day that the problem was the Florida tap water when I brewed one of my regular teas for breakfast and couldn't force myself to finish it.  Unfortunately, the Tomato Cafe didn't seem to have tea for sale loose-leaf or in teabags.  This probably won't be a stop on future road trips unless I bring bottled water for them to use for my tea, and sadly this has confirmed that I am a tap water snob...

Playing Tourist

My BFF, Heather, is out here from California, so today we did a couple of tourist things down in Atlanta. First stop: The Varsity for lunch where we met up with Dave (who had to work half-day)


Next stop: Turner Field where we got to take the tour of the ballpark. We saw inside the locker room and the exclusive SunTrust club level, and then we got to go down and stand inside the Braves' dugout (and watch the lawn maintenance guys hose down the field).



Tonight, we're off to regular Thursday night trivia at Wild Wing Cafe!

Blowing Glass

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Mexico: Leaving on a Jet Plane

The governor of Quintana Roo just happens to be an alumnus of the school where I work. He and all of his alumni friends invited us out to the island of Cozumel for dinner our last night in Mexico. To get there, the governor sent his private jet...

This business trip turned out to be quite an adventure--I'm ready for next year's reunion!

Mexico: A Room With A View

Most of my readers know that I went on a business trip to Mexico this past weekend. We were hosting a reunion of Mexican alumni at a beach resort just south of Cancun. From the moment we walked into the resort, Tres Rios, we all were in awe...

Needless to say, my Mexico excursion was more of a vacation than a business trip, if you couldn't tell by the view from my second-floor room...

How About Them Apples?

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Dave and I took Mom up the road to Jaemor Farms to check out their apples and other natural goodies like cider, honey, and homemade pies and fritters --yum!


I got a bag of Pink Lady apples (right). Mom got a bag of monster-sized Mutsu apples (left).

Pumpkin Patch

Dave and I went with his family to help his nieces pick out their pumpkins this weekend.

Sorry, Dave. No wheelbarrow for you!

Maybe they're edible, too?

Warty pumpkins--eww!

Check out those muscles on my man! LOL

Goats on the Roof

After a nice hike, where do you go? To "Goats on the Roof" to get ice cream, of course! Thank you to the local hiker who told us it was just 5 miles up the road (more like 10, according to my dad...)

Tallulah Gorge: The South Rim

Dave and I planned a Labor Day weekend hike to return to Tallulah Gorge State Park after our brief visit in July. The friends we recruited to hike with us had to cancel for various reasons, so it ended up being an impromptu post-engagement hike with both of our parents. Pictures begin with the end of the North Rim Trail (under the overpass) and crossing the bridge over the dam to the South Rim Trail.





The parents made the executive decision to go from the South Rim to the North Rim because there were less stairs going up from the suspension bridge on the north side of the gorge. Then we all argued about whether or not the stairs at Amicalola Falls are worse.

Tallulah Gorge: The North Rim

On our way home from Highlands back in July, I convinced Dave to stop at Tallulah Gorge State Park on the way home. We had already hiked Glenn Falls earlier in the day, so we checked out the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center (aka the Visitors Center) and walked the 3/4 mile North Rim trail. At the first viewpoint, there was an old metal tower that was used to hold up a tightrope across the gorge in 1970. My only comment about the tightrope walker--only a guy would do something so stupid.





The views were pretty, and we decided to come back some time to hike the South Rim Trail and the stairs down to the suspension bridge that joins the rim trails on opposite sides of the gorge.

Whales, Rings, and Other Things

Dave took me to the Georgia Aquarium for my first visit this past Saturday. They have four whale sharks in their big tank--which happens to be the biggest aquarium tank in the world.

My favorites were the sea otters. However, they don't stay still long enough to get a clear picture!

Dude!

The sharks in Dave's favorite tank, the tropical reef.

Dave and I in front of the tropical reef tank--our last picture as boyfriend and girlfriend since he proposed after we got home from this trip!