28 January 2010 - 28/365: "A View from the Classroom"

This crazy snowstorm blew through this morning as I was sitting at my desk grading English essays. And as fast as it came, it went....by the afternoon, all the snow was gone.

27 January 2010 - 27/365: "Gramma's Pumpkin Pie"

I got this in the mail from James' Aunt Cathy yesterday. It is a recipe for pumpkin pie that was hand-written by his great grandmother Mary. It was so amazing to have it written in her original hand, with her picture. I will love making it, knowing that it has been in his family for a long time. She wrote it in 1949.

26 January 2010 - 26/365: "Mom's Skates"

I pass this sled-&-skates every morning as I'm leaving to work, and I think to myself, "That would be a great shot! I have to remember to take a picture of this." Today I remembered. Those are actually my mom's old ice skates. My dad likes to arrange everything like we are just stepping back in time. He is cute like that. :)

25 January 2010 - 25/365: "A Gift from the Owners"

This is what we found in the fridge of our new home after we just came from closing! They are wonderful people!

24 January 2010 - 24/365: "Water with Lemon"

Sometimes I get tired of just plain water.
It refreshingly washed down our Chinese food
as we watched the Jets make a great final showing.

23 January 2010 - 23/365: "Serenity"

22 January 2010 - 22/365: "The First Gift"

Our first gift came in the mail this week - our comforter set! Given to us by James' Aunt Cathy.

21 January 2010 - 21/365: "Baby Praising Jesus"

My new 5-week-old niece Alexa.

20 January 2010 - 20/365: "No Escape"

Today we took the seniors on a field trip to a correctional facility. It was a sad, difficult day. But we got to pray with several of the inmates and there were quite a few tears. We prayed that we were messengers of hope and God's love to them.

19 January 2010 - 19/365: "Tuxedo Shopping"

Father of the Bride, Groom and Groomsman - picking out the tuxedos. They did a great job! Can't wait to see them! I love how the tables are turned here - look at their intense shopping faces!

18 January 2010 - 18/365: "Curtains"

17 January 2010 - 17/365: "Sammy After a Bath"

This is the quietest you will ever hear this dog, for sure.

16 January 2010 - 16/365: "The Three Sleepies"

I realized very late that I did not have a picture for today. The cats were a little bit of unwilling subjects.

15 January 2010 - 15/365: "I Will Stand"

I work in a private school, and today we had a dress-down day as a fundraiser for Haiti. The students were to give whatever was on their heart, and they were to dress in hand-me-down type clothes to empathize with those who have lost everything and might have to rely on others for the basic necessities, such as clothing. Those who participated were given a sticker to wear that says, 'I will stand and pray for Haiti.' Today, we raised $5,535. 65. I am so proud of our school family. (The picture below is not of the best quality - I was in a rush taking it before class started! - but I wanted everyone to see some of the faces of these great kids.).

14 January 2010 - 14/365: "The First Response"

This is our first response to our wedding! It is from Mr. Contes. He is one of my most favorite people in the world. He was my teacher in 8th grade, all the way until I graduated. He has mentored and counseled me and been an amazing influence in my life. I now work with him at the school I teach at - and he is in administration now.

His wife told me he was so excited when he got our invitation - even more than she was. He filled it out and drove it straight to the post office (even though I see him every day). He wanted to be the first one to respond. Mission accomplished. :)

13 January 2010 - 13/365: "Haiti"

It's all I could think about today.

12 January 2010 - 12/365 : "After a Hard Day's Work"

I stopped at my aunt's after work to drop off the wedding invitation and talk wedding details. And this is where my uncle was - resting in his chair after work. It seems that he is a lot like his brother, my dad - both like to spend the night relaxing in their chairs. [His arms are randomly pulled inside his sweatshirt. He says he just likes it that way.]

11 January 2010 - 11/365: "The Bottom Side of Laundry"

Can you guess what it is???

This picture shows it a little better: the view looking up at freshly-ironed shirts and pants.

10 January 2010 - 10/365: "With Amos"

The J-man with Amos, while watching football on Sunday afternoon.

9 January 2010- 9/365: "The Invites"

Spent most of today getting these little babies out in the mail! Finally done!

8 January 2010 - 8/365 "Go Jets!"

A good friend and teacher at my school gearing up for play-off weekend. The J-man would be so pleased!

7 January 2010 - 7/365: 'Texas V. Alabama'

Some quality time for me and the J-man at Chili's after our pre-marital meeting with our pastor.
The 'Two for $20" deal is stellar!

6 January 2010 - 6/365: "Man and His Friends"

On any given night, this is where you will find my dad: sitting in his chair, dogs on his lap, watching Fox news - or the Antique Road Show.

5 January 2010 - 5/365: "Pray Without Ceasing"

4 January 2010: 4/365 'Main Street at Twilight'

So I brought my camera to school today, hoping to get a good shot. Well, I left to go to my 2nd job at the doctor's office and realized I left my camera in my classroom closet! Crap! Thankfully, my nephew (who works at the doctor's office also) had his I-phone with him and we were able to get this shot. You can see a little bit of the screen through the picture.

I don't think I have EVER seen Main Street in S-town that empty before!

3 January 2010: 3/365 'Turkey Crossing'

I saw these turkeys crossing the road, and I quickly pulled over and tried to get my camera. By that time, they were on the other side...but I thought it was kind of funny how they were underneath the speed limit sign!

Project 365 - Day 1 (and 2!): Princess for a Day/Grading and Other Distractions

I came across this great idea on Nicolasa's blog and I knew I had to jump in. It's one picture for every day of the year. What a cool way to chronicle a year!

I am already a day behind :(

But, thankfully, yesterday was New Year's Day and I took some pictures! :)

So, just for today, I will cheat and post two.

And although the last thing I need right now - between teaching, prepping for the Regents, getting married in less than three months and buying a house - is another diversion and another excuse to procrastinate, I am so on board with this!

So here we go....

January 1, 2010
We had New Year's Day at my parent's house. It is sort of a big day for us - my birthday is December 31 and my grandmother's was January 1, so we always celebrated both of them on New Year's Day. Even though my grandma is no longer with us :( we still had the family there. This is a picture of my uncle with my sister's youngest daughter, his great niece. His family got Gracie all the princess jewelry, which he dressed her up in. This is Gracie looking all beautiful and sparkly with Uncle Lou. I especially love how she is holding his hand!

January 2, 2010


This is what I spent my day doing. You can see my gradebook with all the papers I should be grading...with everything else besides. Yes, this sums up my life just about now. The computer is a CONSTANT distraction, but I can't help it. OK, after this post, I am back to the papers.