Happy (late) Mother’s Day!

I know that Mudder’s Day (that’s my version of Mother’s) was a while ago, but I’m just now getting around to blogging about it. When trying to think of a gift that my mom would like (she buys most stuff that she wants), I have recently started to get my mom tickets as gifts (in the past, we’ve gone to see Champions on Ice and Cirque de Soleil). This year, I got my mom tickets to see James Taylor at Chastain. We had never been there – and I was a little worried about it because I read some bad reviews of the place. Since you can take food and drinks into the venue (which I see as a big plus), the reviews were somewhat negative because apparently some people treat it as a big “tea party” and talk over the music. We got lucky I guess, because almost everyone around us was quiet and enjoying the music. There were a few women behind us that were talking loudly, but the guy to my left eventually turned around and hushed them (and it actually worked... unlike my dirty looks – I guess I should have spoken up).

We weren’t allowed to take cameras into the concert again (and I usually follow the rules), but this time I braved it and brought my camera! Here are some pictures from the night:



The concert was really good – and we had tons of stuff to snack on while listening. A note to anyone that hasn’t been there: there are wide rows so you have room in front of you – take a small “camp table” or TV tray to put your stuff on (and a candle is a nice touch).

Eagles

My dad got me Eagles tickets for Valentine’s Day – so Travis and I got to see them at the new Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre last night. We had tickets for the lawn, but it was pouring down rain (and hailing nearby) when we got there so they moved everyone into the seat area temporarily because it had an awning over it.

Since my parents were also going and they had actual seats, we went to sit in their seats until they got there. The interesting part is that as the concert was about to begin, no one had claimed the seats beside them. We eventually decided to stay in the seats thinking that we would soon be kicked out of them (which made me keep looking around nervously - I’m a rule follower), but no one ever showed up!

I can’t believe the luck… I got to sit with my parents – and my seat was dry!

We weren’t allowed to take cameras into the concert (again, I tend to follow rules), but I found a recent picture of them on the cover of Rolling Stone.

It was a great concert!

Shoal Creek

A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that summer was coming soon (ok, so I was counting down how many school days were left). With that in mind, I had this great plan to go camping before it got too hot out and I enlisted Heather to go with me. So, last weekend, we went to Shoal Creek Park on Lake Lanier. We left school on Friday afternoon right at the bell and we were at the site and set up by 5:30. I was thrilled that we were right on the lake in a great spot - with no trees or shrubs to block the view. Unfortunately, I soon wanted to be surrounded by trees because it was so windy that afternoon (and night) that we couldn’t even sit outside without being too cold (and fearing wind burn).

Like the happy campers we are (or at least tried to be), we made the most of it and hung out inside the tent. Fortunately, the tent is one of those large two-room ones, so we could fit chairs and a table inside with us. We also had a nice view from inside:

As the sun set, we made a fire for warmth (and to make s’mores), but it was just too cold to stay outside for longer than thirty minutes without winter gear (which we didn’t pack).

By Saturday, it had warmed up some and the winds had died down. Finally, we were able to lay out by the lake and the breeze even felt good when we were in the sun. Travis also joined us on Saturday – here are some pictures of us climbing the only tree on our site (Travis climbed it first, so of course I wanted to climb it too).

I also like these pictures...

Did you notice Bailey napping on the picnic table while Heather cooks breakfast in the picture on the left?

I was framed!

I have been working on decorating a wooden frame, which I mentioned in my previous blog. As you can see by the pictures, I painted it brown with accents of yellow/gold to make it look like sand in the background; and then I glued shells on top of it. Preparing the shells was a long process because I had to glue pieces of a kitchen sponge inside of them (to fill them) so that they would glue to the frame easier.

It didn’t turn out as nicely as the ones you can buy, but I really like it because I used shells that I got from the beach where the picture was taken.

Cheater, Cheater...

Travis and I played Scrabble last week on the porch – it was nice out because it had rained that day, so the pollen count was lower and it had cooled off a little bit. As you can tell by the title of this blog, I’m claiming that he cheated because once again - I lost. I’m used to losing, as he’s better than me at coming up with odd words; however, I feel particularly “jipped” this time because I was keeping up with him point-wise until the very end. Our scores were within a few points and we both had 2 or 3 letters left when he added a “D” to the word “PLEDGE.” This gave him so many points that there was no way that I could catch up… so of course I am claiming that adding a “D” is like adding an “S” to a word and shouldn’t be allowed. He was willing to change his word, but then I would feel like I was cheating by not allowing a word. Oh well – maybe I’ll beat him next time.

After enjoying the porch on Thursday, I wanted to spend more time outside over the weekend, but the pollen has been aggravating both of us. To give you an example of how bad it is, I took a picture of Travis while he was cutting the grass on Saturday.


He said that the bandanna over his mouth/nose actually helped a lot.

Since I’ve been staying inside more, I rented two movies over the weekend. Travis and saw No Country for Old Men and I watched 27 Dresses with my mom on Mother’s Day. Both movies were alright, but I wouldn’t highly recommend either one. I've also been working on painting and decorating a frame, but I'll post it when I finish...

Rowdy Friends Tour

Travis and I went to see a Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. concert on Saturday night. They were good, but I had a difficult time enjoying it because it just seemed so loud! Am I really getting that old already?!? Maybe it was because it was inside an arena and I’m more used to being at outdoor concerts, where the sound can dissipate more.

We also went to see The Bucket List with my mom this weekend at the dollar theater (however, they have apparently upped the price to $2 recently). It happened to be the first movie that Travis and I have seen together at a movie theater (we always rent movies to watch at home). I liked the movie a lot… not so much for the specific plot, but for the overall message it gave. It got me to think more about the fun things that I would like to do and the things that I want to accomplish in my life. I had been giving some short-term thought to this lately (when I assigned my students to write themselves a letter that will be mailed to them when they graduate from high school), but maybe I should be thinking about the long term goals more. If I ever come up with a list, I will post it… Do you have any ideas - what is one fun thing and one thing to accomplish that you would put on your list?

I spent the rest of the weekend shopping with Heather, cleaning the house, and playing the Wii Mario Kart game.

I like “driving” on the Wii better than the other racing games I have because you get to turn the remote like a steering wheel. The only problem is that I am so used to using the arrows on the controller to steer, that I forget in the middle of the game and start using them. It’s a little frustrating when I think that I am steering, but then drive right off of the course. I am getting better at it though!