Kiss my grass ...

Look! We have grass, man! (Not THAT kind of grass, Ginger ...)

This is our back yard (well, soon-to-be backyard). They (whomever "they" are) put the grass down last week. The tile guys - and that's an official title - are finishing the kitchen and den today. They still need to put in the grout, and finish the master bathroom.

Wooo hooo! It won't be long now!

:)

For my friends who smoke ...

A Boy and his Toy

This is Ron's new (well, new to him) toy. One of the docs he works with had to buy a big tractor because he bought a bigger piece of property, so Ron bought this from him (to my chagrin). The picture of land I posted is showing the area he semi-cleared today with his tractor. Ahem ... I should mention ... the land he cleared IS NOT OURS. It's part of the plantation that surrounds our land. I have a feeling after it's cleared it will become a food plot.

Maybe I should get out a piggy bank to start putting money away ... you know, for Ron's bond after he gets carted to jail for hunting on a private plantation. I'm sure he's betting on risk v. reward ... the risk is minimal since there is soooooo much land surrounding our place, and the reward ... well, let's just say I'm glad I will have 10 foot ceilings in our house ... 'cuz we gotta make room for more deer heads :(

For my family and friends who ...

... do NOT live in Jawja. This picture is of the road in front of our property. (For my friends who live here, this is LBH - Lower Boston Road)

This ... is red Georgia clay. I know I'm odd about some things, and I think this is one of those "things" that make me odd. I LOVE THIS CLAY. I know it turns my white Pilot orange, but I love it. It's one of the things that defines Georgia, which has been my home for 16 years. I never thought I'd love a state more than my native Texas, but I do. Now ... for my family and friends who live in Texas ... I'm not abandoning my affections for the Tejas ... it is dear to me for a thousand reasons. But Georgia is home for me ...

... that is, until we retire to Colorado ...

:)

Entrance Gate

No, this isn't an ant hole or just pile of bricks. In one of these photos, you can see Ron and his dad working to install a gate on our property. The hole, obviously, is for the poles that hold the gate ... and the bricks are to build around the poles. We will install solar lights on top of the pillars and the gate will be electric. Not only will the entrance bring beauty to our property by landscaping around the pillars, it will keep vehicles off our property. After having Ron's 4 wheeler and trailer stolen, we're not taking any chances. Which, I must mention, is still very much a sore subject ... STATE FARM sucks. You know the commercial, "State Farm is there?" Well, apparently they're RIGHT THERE to raise your premiums whenever you make a claim. Muthas ...

It's gettin' closer ...

... to being finished! Here is the latest photos ... one of the house and one of our front yard, which as you can see is woods. We will have a grass yard that surrounds the house along with landscaping, but we're going to keep the woods in front of our property to try and help the visibility from the road, or the lack thereof, actually. I will post pics from the inside as soon as the cabinets are put in. I think the cabinet guy will start in about two weeks, but in the meantime the tile guy is working on the master bathroom. He has to tile the shower and around the garden tub. He has alot of prep work to do first, then the tile will be put on. Ron and his dad are driving to Jacksonville, Florida on Monday to pick up the tile he ordered. We saved nearly fifty cents a square foot by buying from this certain tile distributor. And THAT'S a good thing since we never budgeted for tile!

More to come ...

Linda's birthday

Here is my friend, Linda, enjoying her birthday. I'm not even sure how old she is ... I think we're only a year or two apart. Oh, and she is also the mother of my friend, Karli (who has already sent two of her papers my way to check for her - she's at MaryMount College in Manhattan).

Linda is ... hmmm, how do I describe her? Well, I think first and foremost, it's important to state that Linda is REAL. There is nothing fake about her! She isn't pretentious, artificial, or conceited in any form or fashion. It is true that what you see is what you get with Linda (and I, for one, think that's a good thing). She raised two great children (which reminds me of my sister, D.D.) by herself, works harder than anyone I know (Um, except for my husband - he's always the exception), and would give you the shirt off her back if you asked her (which reminds me of my mother).

In this photo you can see the flowers I sent her (to her left), and the nekkid-men playing cards given to her by Kristin (yet another friend I must blog about some time). She was showered with gifts from so many people at work ... which, in my mind, is a testament as to how many people truly love her and want to celebrate her special day.

I love her, too ... she's so r-e-a-l ... which makes her a real friend, indeed.

By the way, those playing cards are FAAAAABULOUS ;)

My diploma is here!!!

I've waited nearly six weeks for this piece of paper to get here ... and it arrived today, ensuring I'll have a great weekend. I do have one teensy-weensy gripe about the diploma ... IT'S SO ... SO ... small. I mean, I'm sure it's the same dimension as my diploma for my B.A., so it's not as small as a postcard ... but I expected a diploma that was bigger. I didn't expect one as large as Ron's diploma (his is HUGE and is written in Latin - privilege of going to med school, I guess), but I thought my M.Ed. would be larger in size. Perhaps I'm matching the academic difficulty with the size of the paper ... 'cuz I'm here to tell ya, I worked MUCH harder for this one!

I know, I know ... I shouldn't bitch about it. After all ... it's only a piece of paper. But I guess it's true ...

size DOES matter ...

;-)

5 Long Years

Yep, it doesn't seem as if were 5 years ago today that a monumental tragedy took place. It feels as if it were only yesterday ...

Why does it feel that way? Because the media (in an election year no less - coincidence? Um, maybe not ...) are making sure to devote every spare second to showing the planes fly into the towers. There are documentaries, made-for-tv movies, and news shows this past week ... and I'm sure in the weeks to come as well.

I will perhaps offend some readers when I post a link that concerns 9/11 and the events of that day (moreover, events leading to that day), but I am not worried about that. If my readers love America (as many claim they do), then they will respect and remember that if America is to be free, Americans must honor those freedoms. The freedom I write about is the freedom of speech ... the freedom I have to express my opinion. Now ... I know as sure as I'm sittin' here that some readers will argue that the link I provide below is in direct conflict with our government ... and it's because of our government and its soldiers that I have the right to the freedom I mentioned above. Most of that is true ... I agree that I enjoy this freedom because others fight for us to protect it ... that's right and I agree 100%. But what always seems to get lost in the mail (so to speak) is the fact that granted, our military protects them, but they are only the puppets of our government - they do as they're told. I am grateful for the risk they take ... I am ... and my readers need to keep in mind that just because I am grateful doesn't mean that I can't have an opinion.

I will always believe that the events of 9/11 were cold, cowardly and tragic ... HOWEVER, I will also always believe that our government (specifically George Bush and his cronies) are more than partly responsible FOR THE REASON for the attacks. Slay me and burn my name in effigy for saying so ... I do not care.

The link below will bring those interested parties to a website called "Scholars for 9/11 truth." I think those who have an open mind will visit this site and give some of the articles a look-see ...

http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/

Update

I was going to post photos of the inside of the house ... we're at the painting stage (finally) and I am dying to show off the colors of the rooms ... BUT ... I've decided to wait until the cabinets and flooring is in. My decision to do this probably stems from the color of the kitchen. I chose a Benjamin Moore color called "bryant gold" for the kitchen. I gasped when I saw it on the walls because I could imagine the beautiful cabinets and granite countertops ... those who do not know what the cabinets or countertops look like may only see a color that may evoke thoughts such as, "who puked on the walls?" -----> You know, like my friend Will would say ... :)

So ... until more is complete on the house I am going to wait to post photos inside. Until then, take a look at our view of the driveway as we're leaving our house, and the view we have as we drive up the driveway to our house.

My husband has amazed me in his quest to build us our new home we've dreamed about for the last few years. I had my doubts at one time that he'd pull it off, but he showed me that my doubts were unfounded.

J.

Have you ever ...

... been so tired your eyelids hurt? That's me today ... got the deadass but no time for the deadass ...

Oh well, I have plenty to be thankful for so I should just shut the hell up with my complaining.

I have this student ... I'll call her "A" ... who forces me to use every incidental learning and teaching experience I have learned through 5 years of undergrad, 2 years of grad school, and 4 years of teaching. She wears me out just lookin' at her ... she's probably in her mid 50's, African-American, looks like an unmade bed (at least her hair), and spends more time complaining about how hard her classes (all two of them) are than she does actually doing the work. I am her cheerleader, her mentor, and her foster parent. I have to praise her constantly, lecture her daily, and tell her in a million different ways how far she's come in such a short time. She ... is more than a handful. But ya know what ... she makes me feel like the educator I claim to be. For some reason, I seem to be the only one on the entire campus who can solve her problems. They're never HUGE problems, but she insists that I help her. I'm still not sure I like this position she has me in ... it can get pretty scary up there on the pedestal ... but it is certainly one in which I cannot refuse. She ... is why I work for TRIO. She is underserved, underrepresented, and unrelenting in her quest to educate herself. She demands more than I have ... yet she motivates me to give even more than she expects.

"A" is why I teach.

Now I'm going home ... to screams of "Mommy's home!" from Eli, Hannah coming to me showing me her latest art work, and Ron on the phone with a sub-contractor ... and I am probably too tired for any of that ... but like my job with "A," ... I can't let 'em see me sweat.

I am tired ... but I'd rather be tired than not to be needed.

J

Small town girl in the B I G city

I got an e-mail earlier from my friend, Karli (for those who don't remember - she went with me and Ginger to the Braves game for my birthday) ... she is missing Thomasville, her family, and all her friends. She moved to NYC last week to attend MaryMount College in Manhattan. She was born and raised in this area, so naturally she is missing the familiarity of home.

Not only is she my friend, she is also a former employee. She was an English tutor for our program for over a year, so she is also sorely missed at work. I know she will begin to feel less homesick the longer she is there; I only hope that feeling disappears quicker than it probably should. Her mother, Linda, also works at the university and I'm here to tell ya ... Linda is missing Karli as much as Karli is missing home! Both Linda and Karli remind me of my sister D.D. and her daughter, Amanda ... very close relationships. Karli is also very close to her brother Danny, much like Amanda is close to her brother, Tyler (who is also homesick in Illinois - that's for ANOTHER blog).

I was hoping to see Karli this coming week as I was scheduled to go to NYC for a week to attend the COE conference. I had to cancel the trip because we are short-handed at work ... I would have felt guilty leaving my boss all by herself with only 3 returning tutors (6 are BRAND NEW). I lost $100 by cancelling the plane ticket, but it's only money ... I'd rather lose $100 than to put my boss in a tight squeeze.

So ... I will miss visiting Karli. I am on the lookout for any conferences close to NYC that I can attend in the spring. I'll visit her soon, I'm sure.

Karli ... when you read this ... know that soon I'll be posting pics of us together in Manhattan!!

J :)

Wadda catch!!

I have been meaning to blog this, but got caught up at work and didn't get around to it. Okay, it's Friday now (PTL) and I actually have some "not-anything-pressing-to-do" time.

Alright, so you see the photo of Andruw Jones of the Atlanta Braves here, right? Well, it's not the photo I wanted to post but I could not find the one I was looking for. The other night ... um, I think it was Wednesday night ... the Braves were playing the Giants. In the 8th inning, Ray Durham got some good wood on a Chad Paronto special (which means that it was right down Broadway when it wasn't SUPPOSED to be) and everyone just KNEW the ball would find the stands. I even turned to my husband and said, "Oh hell, there it goes." Andruw Jones had other plans ... the guy jumps up on the outfield wall and caught the ball as it was leaving the field!!! If anyone has watched Andruw play, this description comes as no surprise. I mean, geez ... the dude has won 8 Gold Gloves!!!

I had to blog this because it is one of those moments ... you know, you remember where you were when it happened ... the assassination of JFK ... events like that (okay, so I exagerrated). Well, I'll ALWAYS remember this amazing catch. Wadda gamer ...