Pics, Pics, Pics

I have added some new pictures to my side bar!! Check them out... here is a preview!!!

Buckhead Church department Christmas:



Sex and The City Nights - Week 2 and Week 3:



I have too much fun!!

12/4/2007

The ability to do something for someone else

Rare Blood

On Sunday I went with Kelly from my small group, her co-worker Mike and his friend to NPCC's Christmas's celebration for singles called Not So Silent Night. There was a silent auction and it was headlined by a group called Shane & Shane and they were amazing!! It was a lot of fun and the music was great!!

Last night I met up with Kelly again and Tiffany at Ru San's for dinner. IT was our off week for Community Group but we still wanted to get together since everyone has been so busy lately. It was so much fun chatting with them!!

In all of my errand running today I stopped at the Atlanta Red Cross to donate blood. While speaking to the extraction nurse (at one point I called her a doctor and she informed me I was incorrect) I found out that I have very rare blood. Not that A positive blood is all that rare its that my blood doesn't have a virus in it that almost all adults have. Not that the virus affect adults, but that means the blood can not be used in pre-mature babies. Since my blood doesn't contain that virus it can be used for pre-mature babies. I thought that was quite interesting.

Another stop on my day was to Ru San's with my Buckhead Church team. We had our Christmas lunch there and it was great!! It was fun to see everyone one and to be able to chat while eating sushi!

Another Tree!!!

This rocks!! So, the year I thought I wouldn't put up a tree I have had the opportunity to decorate three!! God rules!

This one was put up at Buckhead Church. Jerry got everything and he let me assist in putting the bulbs on the tree.


If you stand by the tree you would understand why we called the tree the 'King of the Trailer Park"... the bulbs are HUGE. But, in the picture they look pretty good. The rumor in the hallways are that there are pre-schoolers making decorations for are tree as I type. That would ROCK!!

Christmas Trees Everywhere

I wish I had my camera right now. I am at Buckhead Church and every time I walk around there are more and more (fake) Christmas trees popping up everywhere!! Loving it!!

The past week

So, it has been a busy last couple of days, hence, no posts. But to go back...

Sunday night rocked at church. My friend, co-worker, and exceptional blogger Carlos was one of the lead singers and it was great watching everyone on stage. It so nice that they have the music loud enough so I can't hear myself sing. I sing so well that way.. hehe!! Then we were able to listen to a wonderful speaker, Duffy Robins. If you want to watch the service yourself please do so at the Buckhead Church website.



Monday night I spent time with my community group. We ate pizza at Fellini's Pizza and discussed the upcoming Christmas season. Yesterday was my day off and I decided I wanted to get all of my Christmas shopping done. I had an idea of what I wanted to get for everyone but needed to pick it up. I thought it would take a half day maybe... boy was I wrong! I left my apartment around 10am and didn't get back home until almost 7:00!! I went to the Marshall's in Buckhead, quick stop at Starbucks for some Peppermint Mocha before heading over to Ikea, then onto the Marshall's at Perimeter, over to Loehmann's, back to Marshall's, then to the Perimeter Mall, over to Target and finished up at Bed, Bath and Beyond. It was a busy day but I feel so relieved that I have gotten it all done! Once I got home I wrapped almost all the gifts! Exciting that I am so on the ball this year!! Now all thats left is to make the Christmas cookies and I can't wait. Thank God for Jesus' birth!! This way I get to have a favorite time of year (as well as my salvation)!!!

Christmas Tree!!

My parents sent me more pictures of my Christmas tree all decorated and I love them so I thought I would add them to my blog:








Enjoy!!

11/26/2007

I received these pictures of my Christmas tree from my parents today:




That Carlos co-led singing at Buckhead Church for the first time, and it was awsome!!

The message at church last night spoke right to me.

That I was able to sit with my friend Amy.

That there is a church in Buckhead that I LOVE to attend.

That I am able to read my Bible.

11/22/2007

PARADES!!! (Love the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade)

A day to eat a TON of food!

Mimosas in the morning

A day to spend with friends and good food

A day to remember what I am truly thankful for

Two places to work each week

Rainy days

Candles

A door to open to smell the rain and feel the breeze

THE PARADE!!

(Did I mention the parade)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!! I am making a pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie tonight and I a so looking forward to it!! I went against my usual and bought (for the first time ever) pre-made crusts. So, I am going to test it out tomorrow and see if I can tell a difference between my home-made crust and the store bought. If not, that would save me a ton of time in the kitchen!!

My big plans for tomorrow are as follows:
- have a mimosa while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade!!
- enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Kendol, Victor and Kendrick
- remembering all that I have to be thankful for

and then nothing!! That all the plans I have. We'll see what else creeps into the day. But, even if that is all that happens I will be happy.

I am a little sad that I don't have my Christmas tree to look at for the next month, but I know my parents are enjoying it (well, the better be :)~ ).

11/21/2007

All of my family and friends

The fact that I can keep up with most of them via blog, email, texting, chatting, aim's, and phone.

When my Grandparents can stop by for lunch on their way to Florida

That I can take a plane, train, or automobile to see my friends and family.

My walk home from Buckhead Church

I thought you might enjoy a walk with me. So, I brought my camera into work today and took pictures on my walk home! I get a lot of comments when people find out that I actually walk to work. I thought, why not show everyone "why?" Because, every time I walk I always think, "why not???" I hope you enjoy the scenery as much as I do!

11/20/2007

Beautiful fall days

The ability to hear

The fact that I can sing as loudly as I want at church and still can't hear myself (I am really that bad)

Blue couches

cameras

kendol, who will walk with me.

a place to call home

Jamaica

My friend Angie gave me a CD with all the pictures from her Jamaican wedding on it. I saw this picture of me and liked it :) So, why not add it to the blog.

Added Michigan Pictures!!

I added pictures from the trip to Michigan!!! There isn't many (I am good a remembering to bring the camera but thats about all) so enjoy what is there!

Things I am Thankful For

I have been reading a book that suggests writing down everything you are thankful for and updating it daily. So, I am doing so. Check it out if you get bored :)

11/16/2007

Days off

Sleeping in until 11am

Peace and quiet

The Holiday

Knitting Needles

The familiarity of my couch

Oranges for breakfast

Proverbs 16:9

the great staff at the Ansley Publix last night

Trader Joe's

New PICS!!

I added some new pictures from last night!! We had our first Sex & The City Night and it was a blast!! Enjoy the pics...

11/15/07

Sitting on the 4th floor of Buckhead Church overlooking Buckhead. I am thankful for the view.

For the beauty of Fall.

For friends who love SATC as much as me.

For getting to see Lynn's 20 story view of Midtown.

For loving my job at BC.

For God providing me the money to save to move to NYC!!

For being able to walk to work this morning and for my beautiful white scarf.

For being able to watch Nip/Tuck tonight with Ashley and Marcus.

For beautiful red trees.

laptops and power cables

It rained last night

and then got really cold this morning! My walk to Buckhead Church was quite chilly but nothing like the biting wind of Michigan. But now I sit on the 4th floor of the Church, looking out at an amazing view. It makes me wish I would have remembered to bring my camera. Fall has finally officially arrived in Atlanta. It sure is beautiful.

VACATION!!!

I just got back from vacation... it was great. It was COLD, but GREAT!! I took Kendol up with me to visit my family and for us (mostly Kendol) it was a week of firsts:

- it was the first time someone came up to Michigan with me from ATL
- it was our first experience watching Jeff Dunham
- it was his first time in Michigan - north of Detroit
- it was his first time shooting a bow
- it was his first time bow hunting
- it was his first time tracking a deer
- it was his first taste of 'Tiger Meat' - and no, its probably not what you think
- it was his first time understanding country music
- I am sure there are more, I just forgot them

We spent the weekend with my Mom's side of the family - it was our Christmas!! My grandparents always go to Florida in the winter so we get everyone together before they head south. Its always a ton of fun! We played a ton of euchre and schafkopf. We ate more food than anyone should (I swear I gained 10 pounds)!

Then Kendol and I crossed the state to visit with my cousin Marie and to see my Grandma and any other relative that we could manage to see. We stayed at "Adam's house" so we saw him a few times. On Sunday Adam, Marie, Kendol and I went to church at Mars Hill, we drove by my family's old house in Jenison, and then headed out to a few bars for drinks. On Monday Marie, Kendol and I stopped by Grandma's house and saw her and Uncle Ed. Uncle Ed then showed us where Grandpa is now buried. Then at night we saw Uncle Rogor and Kelly. Kelly just had her house decorated by a designer for Christmas... and it was beautiful!!

We left Grand Rapids Tuesday morning and hung out with my parents for a few days before heading back to the ATL. I was able to decorate both trees (my Christmas tree and my parents version of a Christmas tree). I have a few pictures that I need to upload yet... once I do I will add them to the blog. And, we watched the CMA awards on Wednesday.

My favorite quote from the week came from Kendol when he was trying to explain to his Mom how country Michigan really is. I only got part of the conversation but anything she named he said "no, more country than that." And to explain it to her he said "no, its like Kansas." When he got off the phone I asked if he had ever been to Kansas and he said, "no, but I have to imagine this is what it looks like."

As always, the time flew by! I am excited to go back again in December for Christmas part deux!!

Kristie is...

So, Heather of WittakerWoman has updated her blog with Heather is... and listed everything that came up when she googled "Heather is." I thought it was pretty cute so I did the same. Check it out!

Kristie is...

- just a click or call away (very true)
- an outstanding real estate professional (I always wanted to be!)
- has been working to write women back into history. (Sweet)
- a personal branding expert who offers complete personal branding services including consulting
- truly an inspiration to entrepreneurs
- amazing at kindly snapping her fingers in front of my face
- hitting the runway
- a graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law (man have I been busy)
- not so courageous (this can be true at times)
- good looking (I am glad everyone knows this ;)
- stuffed with feminism, metaphysics, philosophy

What do you think of the new blog???

So, I decided that after about 3 years of the same thing it was time for a little refresh. What do you think?

Wish List

So, somehow I ended up in the Neiman Marcus email list and found a few things that I now feel I need to have. I thought I would share them with you. They don't actaully go together. Just all things that appear beautiful to me :)

15 minutes of fame

I was working out at my typical LA Fitness today when, running next to this girl that would make most women like my die... 100 lbs soaking wet, 0 fat, flat stomach... when I realized I need to work on my envy. In doing so I started naming all the things I was grateful for... my curvy hips, and um... anyway... while I am trying so hard not to feel too bad about myself a guy came up to me and stated that he noticed me in the Atlanta magazine and wanted my autograph. Could God be any more obvious?!?!? QUIT OBSESSING!!! Enjoy being me! I had to smile.

I swear there is a camera in my cube at Cbeyond

otherwise how would they have known...

Beautiful

Feels so good...

I have had a few people come up to me today here at Buckhead Church and let me know that I am doing a really good job. And on this rainy Wednesday it has made me feel really good. One of the guys who said something to me was from another NP campus and said that he has heard a lot of great things about me!

Everyone needs a little encouragement from time to time and this was more than I could ask for!

Nicole's Birthday Cake

So, this is my day of posts I guess... but I wanted to show off a cake I made for Kendol's daughter Nicole. She is turning 7 this month and we are about to head off to her birthday party!!

I got a package today

Lucky me :)

Pictures from VJ's party

I have (finally) uploaded pictures from VJ's party. Check them out!! They are also posted on the left with the rest of my picture links!!

NEW EXPRESSO MAKER!!!

OHHHH I AM SOOOOO HAPPY!!!!

I was talking to a co-worker at Cbeyond last week about how much I love Starbucks and am learning the 'language.' I am not to the point where people there know my name but then I guess that means I have something to strive for...

But, in the conversation I happened to mention how much I love expresso and will get an extra shot in my drinks sometimes. Well, come to find out he has an expresso maker that neither he or his wife use. Whaaaaaaa?!!? Don't use?!?!?! Apparently he received it as a gift so I told him if he ever wanted to find it a good home, I am willing to adopt it.

This week guess what he brought to work!! You guessed it! The expresso maker! I was thrilled. So yesterday at lunch I went to my favorite Starbucks out in Vinings and got me some expresso!! Why is that particular Starbucks my favorite?? EVERY time I have been there everyone has been more than helpful, the go out of their way to make you feel welcome, and they always seem to be having fun! They are an inspiration to me.

So, of course I couldn't make expresso last night or I would just be going to sleep right now. However, I did read the instructions and ran some test runs (I can make a mean cup of hot, steamed water). I woke up this morning with a big fat grin on my face, came out to the kitchen, and made my first expresso with steamed milk. Not to shabby for the first go.

What do you think??

Judgment

Well, well, well. I bet you have never looked at judgment in this way before. Think I am judging you? Well, I am not. I say this because I have never looked at judgment in this way. It rocks. You will love it. Boy do I have a lot to learn.

P.S. you will want to listen to both sermons in the Judgment Call series that are already online. If you click on the 'F' you can watch it, not just listen. And, there are 2 more installments coming up... I know I can't wait!

For those in the ATL...

I thought you may want to see this...





You can check them out here.

Sex & The City

So my community group had our first Sex & The City night and we had the most fun!! We all met up at Kelly's house and watched the first half of the first season. Also, Kelly made a ton of low-carb foods since there are some dieters in the group and we drank wine and bellini's! It was too fun! We are planning on making it a monthly thing so I am excited. Kelly did take some pictures so if I get them I will upload them!

Exciting!

Well, this week is making me very tired!!! But, a good tired! Friday was a really big day for me. Kendrick and I were the hosts for Victor's birthday party! We had decided to make it a little bit more low key affair by having the party at Victor's place and for Kendrick, Mike (Kendrick's friend) and I making the food. We did everything as tapas and did it all in complete VJ style... alcohol in everything! It was wonderful and everyone loved the food... which made me happy since I started preparing the food at 10am that day! Hehe. Since I love to cook, here is a listing of what we made:

1. Mixed fresh fruit (pineapple, mango, apples, oranges, grapes, muskmelon, and cantaloupe) with a few different types of wine.

2. BBQ ribs with red wine

3. Kendrick made BBQ meatballs with Budweiser sauce

4. Mike made fried tilapia with Bourbon

5. chicken apple salad in tomatoes (the chicken had been soaked in sherry)

6. Margarita chicken and shrimp skewers

7. bruschetta (sadly no alcohol in this dish)

And, we had all the guests bring the drinks. All leftover drinks went to Victor for a birthday gift. Kendrick and I wanted Victor to have something to open as well so we got him a laptop bag from Kenneth Cole (VJ's favorite designer). It was a blast and a ton of pictures were taken... now I just have to get them and upload them. When I do I will let you know.

I, of course worked on Saturday and Sunday. So, after being up all night a VJ's party I had a difficult time with work but I managed to get everything done that needed to be. I went home Saturday night to take a nap but just couldn't seem to fall asleep. So, no nap occurred before going out to neighbor Raleigh's birthday party at Twains, which is a pool hall bar in Decatur. We had a blast with Raleigh, his colleagues in the master's program for philosophy at Georgia State, and the rest of us non-philosophy majors.

Needless to say I was out late again Saturday night and had to be to work on Sunday, bright and early! I managed to work fairly well most of the day and got a slight nap in before going to church at night. I am so glad that I did go to church though. We had our first session of a series in judgement. It brought in a lot of new perspectives focusing around Matthew 7:1-5. Basically, the concept boils down to looking at the mirror and at yourself and the issues in your life before you judge someone else. It was really good to hear!

I did get a full night sleep last night, which was fabulous but I am still exhausted! Tonight I am heading to Dolce in Atlantic Station with my small group girls. I am very excited to see everyone and to eat at Dolce since I haven't been there yet. Then on Tuesday night is the first 7|22 at Buckhead Church! I am excited for the next few days!!

Who knew...

So, apparently as a member of the staff (I think being contract counts as being a member) at Buckhead Church they, as in the higher ups, want you to actually be a better person. And, once every 90 days they give us training in how to do just that. I was amazed... floored... astonished. I fell even further in love with the job I am only doing 2 days a week.

Being only apart of one post-college company I had a believe that all companies worked in one way... what can the employee do for me (aka how can we get the most out of them with providing the least to them). All the training I have ever gotten was so that the company could get more outta me.

I am so grateful to be apart of something so much greater than that. As I told my Dad earlier today... "God is a fabulous boss!" And Jason and Jeff aren't so bad either! Thanks so much Buckhead Church.

Peach Magazine

So... I have had a second of fame... I was in Atlanta's Peach magazine. They have a page for events that are happening around the city and I happened to get in. I am super excited!! Check me out...

Throw Away The Garbage

I love it!!

Comments for Breast Cancer

The Budget Fashionista is raising money for Breast Cancer Research. What do you have to do to help? All you have to do is leave her a comment and she donates $1 for each one. Go ahead, comment away...

Whitney's Party

Kendol and I went to our friend Whitney's birthday party... here are some pictures from her party.







Fun times!!!

Sometimes life doesn't have anything to do with money...

Or, ask and you shall receive. I stated only two days ago that I wanted an iPod and apparently I won one from my job at Cbeyond!!! God is good!

P.S. God, can I now please have the Nike+ shoes & the sports pack. Pretty please.

/blush

ADDICTED

My name is Kristie and I am an addict. Yes, it is true. After all these years trying to avoid it. Trying to walk a straight line. I finally broke down on Tuesday. While sitting on my couch trying to avoid my headache but the whole time dreaming of coffee. I am truly addicted to coffee.

But I found that I am not only addicted to coffee. No, no, no. I am finding addictions are like grey hairs or lays potato chips - you can never have just one. So, here are my addictions:

1) Coffee (in the morning before my first sip it really doesn't matter what kind)
2) Starbucks
3) double-tall, no whip, fat-free pumpkin spice latte
4) Fresh-2-Order
5) Mac PowerBook G4

Yes, yes, yes... its sad but true. I am learning the language... But, on the up side, check out the sweet cups I found and decided I couldn't live without:



For those who have not been to Fresh-2-Order you are sooooo missing out. While sitting outside in downtown Atlanta across from a Starbucks, Kendol and I enjoyed our relatively cheap, exceptionally fresh dinner. Besides, who can say no to bourbon marinated Salmon, avocado, lettuce, tomatoes, tarragon aioli, and corn cilantro relish. I can't wait to have another!




With all the love from my additions I am a little bit sad. Really its only for two reasons:

1) I can not upload pictures from my beloved Kodak EasyShare camera to my newest love... my Mac PowerBook G4. Apple tells me they are 'uncompatable.' I say they are meant to be.

2) Its always a sad day when you find out your boyfriend likes the movie 'Willow.' And I quote from him, "I have never seen so many midgets in my entire life."

Nike Run

Apparently Nike incourages people to run. They just don't do it very loudly. Well, maybe a little loudly. I was walking thru the mall the other day ~ as I very often do ~ and found a sign outside the Nike store announcing that they have what they call 'Nike Run' every Tuesday night at 6:30pm. You can go either 3, 5, or 7 miles.

I convinced Kendol this would be a fun way to spend an evening and off we went. Afther getting signed in they were letting us borrow a pair of Nike+ shoes and an iPod Nano with the sport kit. I loved it. I am now trying to come up with the money to buy it all (since I don't have the shoes, the iPod, or the sport kit... and the 3 together is not cheap). The shoes were light and perfect for running and I loved having all my stats at the click of a button. I 'drank the juice.'

At the end of the run the provide Vitamin Water, granola bars, and fruit!! Yum. And, they also gave everyone a free pair of socks! They look pretty nice too. I will have to test them out next Tuesday when I go running again.



Anyone in the Buckhead area come join me!!

Evolution of a Puzzle

Last week Kendol and I decided to put together a puzzle, one that I had gotten from my parents for Christmas when I still lived in Michigan, but Kendol saw it sitting in the closet a few months back and thought we needed to conquer 750 pieces. So, we finally sat down and after 2 days and a lot of stareing at New York (there is nothing wrong with that) we finally got it done... check it out!

LA Ink

Carlos, one of the guys I work with and the auther of Ragamuffin Soul, will be on LA Ink tomorrow!! Lucky!!

Erin's Blog

I just found Erin's blog!!! (Actually she sent it to me but who's counting...) She was the one who was nice enough to help me get the job at Buckhead Church and who I was volunteering for. Just just had the cutest baby, which of course there are pictures of on her blog. Check it out :)

Atlanta Braves!!

Last Wednesday as Kendol and I were eating dinner (left overs from my dinner party on Tuesday that turned out wonderful! As usual with my dinner parties I forgot to take pictures...) Victor called and said he had four tickets to go watch the Braves game that night. The one that started in an hour. And he asked if we wanted to go. Sweet! Just needed to find someone else to come with us. I did remember our neighbors state that they would like to go to a Braves game this year so I called up Raleigh and asked if he and roomate Ian were up for a game. Ian had a big test the next day so he was unable to go but the rest of us had a ton of fun at the game!! The tickets were for the VIP section and we had a great view. Not only was the view great but so was the weather! It was beautiful.

I posted a few pictures from the game in the same list as I post all other pictures. Enjoy!!

Cooking, cooking, cooking

Is the theme for me this week. I found out that two people I know had birthdays in the past week so I am celebrating with them this week. One of the guys is Steve, who works at Cbeyond with me. He was actaully the guy who made my birthday cake from scratch, so you know I have to go all out for his, and he wants chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I am making it tonight... so I will have to take a pic and blog it.

Then Kendol's brother Antonio had his birthday last week but is having his party on Saturday. Both Kendol and I have to work but we will take him a cake on Thursday to celebrate! He wants a vanilla cake that is themed in Dolphins or Sharks. So, I am doing the baking and Kendol will be doing the decorating. I figure we should put his creative talents to work!

And, finally on Tuesday I am having another one of my big dinner parties (well, big for my apartment... there will be about 10 people there). Since we are *starting* to see some weather conditions that may be considered fall-like, I have decided to do a big ham, sweet-potato, winter vegetable dinner. I can't wait!! If I have time I will be making an inside out German chocolate cake. My bosses birthday is coming up and he wants me to make a German chocolate cake... I figure this would be a good time to practice!!

BTW - it was good to finally see UofM finally decide to play football!! Hopefully they can keep that up!! Hehe!!

Award Winning Work

Aparantly I am a part of an award winning orginization.

Trade As One

My church put together a singles retreat and I just read a blog about it. While they were there they had vendors from around the world selling thing, One of the vendors was Trade As One. I found their mission quite interesting... maybe you will too. Check them out:

Does your church have a blog???

Well, mine does. And I have linked it to the side. I am telling ya, this is the COOLEST place to work!!

Lovin it!!

I had to stop and write an entire blog about my new job... just to let you know how much I LOVE IT!!! Its amazing that I can go to work and not be completely stressed out!! I am loving this!! And, I know the reason is the people. Everyone there is so friendly, so God-oriented, so laid back. They are wonderful! I have been shadowing a guy named Trip, who is very unique. I tried to explain him to Kendol but the best I could do was a cross between him (i.e. ADD) and my friend Marcus (i.e. loves Macs). My new boss is a guy named Jason and his wife had a baby like 5 days before I started. I found out that most of the women there are newly married and just had a child or is about to. When I was informed of this fact everyone looked and me. I about fell out of my chair before explaining to them that I have a five year plan and neither marriage or children are in it. They laughed at me.

There are so many creative people working at the church, no wonder its such a great place to worship. I don't have a lot of stories myself yet about the different people however there is a new guy named Carlos who just moved from Cali to serve as the Service Programming Director. His family (wife and 3 children) are still there but will be moving down at the end of the month. Carlos has an amazing blog called Ragamuffin Soul that I have added to my favorite. Check his out under my friends section.

Well, thats about it for now. I will keep you posted!

Kept Busy

I have sure been kept busy... and just with work!!

Actually, I haven't had a day off since last Friday (and I don't mean 4 days ago... I mean 11), but I took tomorrow off and will be doing almost nothing all day long. Kendol won tickets to a comedy show so that is the almost. I have bought champagne, orange juice, and peaches so I will be having a Mimosa/Bellini day - probably at the pool! I can't wait!!!

My new job is going really well! They are so laid back and so far the love me... but I expected no less. And they don't need me to be there until 9:30 or so in the morning... so I can easily walk to work!! And, they gave me a Mac laptop... its so small and cute. I can take it home and learn how to use it! I love it!

In other news, I had to go to court on Friday at 7am for the accident I was in... it was easy for me. But, the ease for everyone there depended on what door you went in. I went in the main door, as did about 50 other people. However there were about 15 people who had to come in a side door... in handcuffs!! The judge heard the people in handcuffs first and most of them were there on DUI charges and one was there on a laundry list of charges including speeding at 150 or higher and fleeing the cops. But there was one that made me giggle and got me in trouble with the court officer.

Everyone was in the court room in civilian clothes expect one man, and he was in his red jail jumpsuit. He was the last of handcuffed to be seen by the judge... his crime... urinating in public! Before 8am that charge to me is hilarious... especially since he was in handcuffs and a jumpsuit! I giggled. Which, I found out was a mistake. The court officer looked over to me and told me there was no talking in the courtroom and we needed order... that's when he saw that I had been chewing gum. He made the most upset face and started mouthing to me "no chewing gum" while making wild hand gestures towards his mouth. It is before 8am!!! I had to work really, really hard not to laugh at him. But, I composed myself and within 15 minutes I was in front of the judge. I plead my no contest and thanked the judge for his time before paying my fine and heading to J. Christopher's for some breakfast... then I was off to a day at work.

Never a dull moment!

So many changes...

So, since my last post I have been sick, the hole in my apartment has finally been fixed, I have gotten into an accident, and picked up another job. Little more explanation...

So, the Saturday after my birthday my throat started to hurt. I assumed the trouble was just too much birthday partying so I didn't think too much of it.

Saturday was my friend Britt's 21st birthday party! Kendol and I went out to his parents house for a cook-out before going to Fever to do some dancing. I wasn't drinking since I had drank quite a bit at my own party, I had to work the next day, and Britt's parents house was quite a ways outside the city. So, I make it back into town, get to the street that the club is on (which is about 2 mile from my apartment) and get into an accident! I side swiped a mini-van trying to turn lanes. My car wasn't too damaged, I broke the passenger side mirror and I put a good dent in the back panel of the mini-van. The guy I hit was pretty cool about the whole thing but we had to wait for about an hour before the police showed up and about an hour and a half total. I now have to go to court on Friday, August 31 to get my sentencing, but she gave me a ticket for an improper lane change. Unfortunately I never made it into the club and never got to do any dancing!! But, at least the accident wasn't too bad! And, I found out that Progressive is a pretty good car insurance company... I called them while we were waiting for the police to arrive, the had given me a claim number and set up a time for my car to be fixed. I got a free rental while they were fixing it and they did all the work. The car has been fixed and I am pretty satisfied with the service they provided.

Kendol's friend Carrie, who is currently living in Wisconsin but grew up down here, was in town for a friend's wedding and Kendol wanted to see her before she had to head back home so on Sunday we hung out with her and a few other guys at one of the guy's apartment pool. It was a lot of fun and his friend Carrie is really sweet.

The only trouble... I woke up the next morning and couldn't talk! My throat felt huge and I could barely get two words out before it hurt. So, I called in sick and planned to lay around all day and maybe watch some television. However, I slept until 11am, got up for about an hour before realizing that I wouldn't be able to stay up. Went back to sleep, did the same thing between 5pm and 6pm. Got up again at 9pm stayed up until about 10:30pm before going back to sleep. I slept the entire day!! And the sad part is, when I woke up on Tuesday I didn't feel any better! I called in sick again! However, by about noon on Tuesday I was at least able to stay awake!

I felt good enough to get some work done on Wednesday so I went to work and took a training class (they are giving us training Tuesday-Thursday for the next month so I have been having to go in on some of my off days) and then went to Buckhead Church to do some volunteering. The lady I volunteer for suggested that I give her my resume, they are looking for some people in their Information Technology department. So, once I got home I sent her my resume. The next day I had an email from Human Resources wanting to set up an interview. I went online and found that the job they were hiring for was part time, something I can do in my off days from Cbeyond. So, I had my interview and I now have a job! I am working for the church on Wednesdays and Thursdays starting next week.

On Thursday I had to stop down to the DMV to get my tags on my car renewed. I never remember but I need to bring them cash so it always takes me twice as long as it should since I have to stand in line twice but the building is right on the marta line and its much easier to take marta than it is to drive and find free parking so I took that. After getting my tags I went to work again for another training class and I started feeling really groggy again! This time it was more in my nose and chest... By Saturday night I was coughing enough to keep me awake and by Sunday night I was not able to sleep. Monday morning I finally broke down and called the doctor but they were not able to get me in until Tuesday so Monday night I slept sitting up and that worked pretty well. Tuesday I stopped in and the doctor prescribed me a cough medicine and an antibiotic. I went to the doctor on my lunch break and went back to work after I got the medicine. I took the medicine at work and it made me really dizzy!!! I got soooo sick at work the guys here though I should go home... but I was afraid to drive! So, I took a nap in the break room and stayed here until I thought I was well enough to drive home without getting sick on the way... which was an hour after my shift ended! I made it home safely, slept all night, and woke up feeling much better. I called my doctor and got a new antibiotic. I did much better after that!

And finally, I have been dealing with the ceiling hole and mold for the the last month since there was a leak in my bathroom ceiling about a month ago. Kendol cleaned up the mold and I have been contacting the office and writing them letters (as stated in my contract) for the past month with no real service on getting the ceiling patched up. So finally last week I wrote them a letter stating I would have to contact a lawyer and find out my legal rights if the hole was not patched up within the next week. On Thursday I got a call from the office manager stating it would be fixed that day... and it was! I was shocked but very happy. I spent Thursday night cleaning out that bathroom (it was fixed but they made a mess doing so) and then Friday night cleaning out the rest of the apartment. The worst part was the closet so I re-arranged it and got rid of about 3 bags of cloths. I am getting my closet down to only what I am really wearing, which is all I really have room for anyway.

After cleaning, Kendol and I went to our friend Whitney and Carol's apartment for a small party. It was nice to be out and feel well! I had a lot of fun too!!

Happy Birthday!!

I had a wonderful birthday! I spent the first half of it at the gym then relaxing. I took a really, really long nap! Loved every minute of it... hehe!

Then at night my friends and I went out to Eclipse di Luna, a tapas restaurant in Buckhead, for dinner and drinks. There was a live Latin band and the atmosphere was excellent! We got their 'all-you-can-drink-and-eat' special and we were able to drink sangria's, beer, and wine as well as an assortment of tapas for 2 1/2 hours. You better believe my friends know how to take advantage of that!! We had a blast drinking, eating, talking, and being goofy.

One of my friends got me a birthday cake and part way thru the evening they brought out the cake... the entire restaurant helped sing happy birthday. If I remember correctly the band even played along with them (however, it may have just been music in my head... I had quite a bit to drink)!!

I got a few other really fun presents. Grandma & Grandpa E. sent me a very pretty cross (which is about to be hung in the bedroom). My parents sent me a music-playing birthday card which was reminiscent of our Nashville trip (i.e. it plays country music) and when we were in Nashville they bought me a purse and bathing suit as well as helped finish my apartment up when they were here! Kendol took me out for the dinner and bought me a very nice outfit... dress, shoes, purse, and lotion. However, the dress didn't fit so it will have to be returned. Kendrick bought me a very cute D&B pink purse. Marcus and Ashley got me a pink rolling pin and mat from William Sonoma. Whitney and Carol bought me an assortment of goodies including a thong, candle and holder, and shot glasses. Victor stated my gift is 'in the mail' and I will get it next week with dinner at his apartment. And last but not least Cleveland gave me a gift certificate from Bed, Bath and Beyond. I have such thoughtful friends and family and I love all the gifts I received!!

After dinner we went to my friend Los' apartment for the after party. However most of us were wiped out by the actual party so the after party was quite short. I have no clue what time I got home but woke up around 10am... with only a slight headache. It wasn't anything that an Advil, some coffee, and a good breakfast couldn't take care of!

I am working on getting all of the pictures uploaded. It should be completed soon and once they are they will be added with the rest of the pics on the left hand side. I still am loving the camera my parents bought me for Christmas. And, you can thank my friend Kendrick for all the wonderful pictures... he is always my camera man! I can remember to bring the camera but can never remember to take pictures!

Other birthday news... on Monday the guys at work got me cake and ice cream as well (since I am generally only at work with everyone on Mondays). And, the cake was made from scratch by one of the techs! It was very good!


In other news, cause I know not everything this week revolved around my birthday... even though I think it should have! Hehe.

The air conditioning in the building stopped working on Sunday... and we just got it back today! Gotta love it. This week we had record breaking temperatures in Atlanta and of course, no air! The temps have been over 100 degrees... with the heat index putting the air temperatures over 108. And, they stated that the pavement temperatures (can you believe they can now tell you how hot the pavement is??) are in the 140's! So, you can imagine how hot my apartment could get! Luckily at night we were able to turn the air fan on high, open the one window that my apartment has, and let the 70 degree temperatures circulate. Then in the morning we would shut everything up and leave all of the lights off. Also, we elected to have dinner out of the apartment instead of cooking. All in all it really did stay quite cool in here!

After a lot of thought I have decided not to continue with the same volunteering group thru Hands on Atlanta so I will have to find another group to volunteer with. There was a gap between my believes and theirs. Even though they were really nice people I don't think I can volunteer with them and have a clean Christian conscious.

But, I am now volunteering on Wednesdays and Fridays at my church. The lady that I am helping works Sunday thru Wednesday so I come in on Wednesday and help her with random office work and then on Fridays I get all of the bulletins ready for Sunday.

Well, back to uploading pictures and this apartment needs a good cleaning!

Volunteering

So, I have had another busy week!!

The chruch has updated the name for the 'small group'... they now call them 'community groups' which is probably good because everyone at work makes fun of the name 'small group' they say it sounds like an AA meeting or something. So, now I am trying to use the term community group when referring to the group of women I meet with on Monday evenings.

Either way, we have been reading a book called Peeking into a Box of Chocolates and we read a chapter basically on greed. They recommended volunteering as a way to help with greed, which is something that I had been wanting to do both in and out of church. The trouble for me was I work on Sundays and there was no real way for me to help out (I run straight from work to Church). So, I said a little prayer and then went onto their website. I didn't find anything about signing up as a weekday volunteer however I did find a link to become a member of the church. I decided to give it a try. So, I am now in the application stage of becomming a member of a church!

So, I went to church last Sunday and was thumbing thru the bulletin and found that they are now looking for weekday volunteers! God said 'ask and you shall receive' right! He wasn't kidding! So, on Monday I emailed the appropriate parties and started volunteering on Wednesday. It's mostly just light office work but its a start for volunteering inside the church.

But, that didn't take care of my want to volunteer outside the church. I did some more research online and found a group thru Hands on Atlanta that delivers food to the homeless. So, Wednesday morning I joined them and had my first experience inside a shelter. It was a mens shelter and it was an overflow shelter... so basically they take everyone that the other shelters didn't take. There were a few things that I am not sure about with the group but I need to keep volunteering... whether or not I stay with this same grouop.

On Thursday I went to a lecture at the High Art Museum. Kendol got me a Marta pass so I can now get around Atlanta without having to drive (its pretty nice) so I took that to the museum. I am a member of the Museum so I try to go at least once a month to check it out! On Thursday they had a lecture on a painting called 'Mrs. Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (Edith Minturn)' by Cecilia Beaux. It was really interesting to learn about the lady who painted and the lady who was painted!

That night Victor and I had a 'Going Out' night. We went to Geisha House, a new sushi bar/lounge in Atlantic Station. We had a ton of fun people watching!!

Friday I did a ton of walking. I walked all around Piedmont Park, ran some errands, and walked to Trader Joes to get some groceries and then walked about a mile or so home. I think I over did it though because I woke up yesterday morning with a pretty sore back... which hasn't gotten better yet! Hopefully it won't take too long to get over this! Hehe!

Once again... pictures!

Oh so much fun (and work) seeing my parents!! Hehe!! I met up with my parents not last Sunday, but the Sunday before last in Nashville. They had gotten in Friday with my Uncle Mike & Aunt Linda and the 4 of them had rode around their Harleys and saw downtown Nashville, so they knew exactly where they wanted to go for dinner on Sunday night... Wild Horse Saloon. The Wild Horse was a ton of fun and we got free dance lessons. That's right, I, my parents and my Aunt Linda can now do a two step.

The next day, after my Aunt and Uncle left my parents took their vehicle in to get the air fixed and we drove my car out to The Hermitage - Home of Andrew Jackson. We spent most of the afternoon touring the house and grounds in 100 degree weather (my mom was a little warm) before heading back to Nashville for dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Luckily before we got back to Nashville the vehicle was fixed so we picked that back up and drove it around... the air worked wonderfully. We toured the main streets, hopped in and out of a few bars, was asked for money by the largest bunch of beggars that I have ever seen... no lie, they were obese. Before heading back to our hotel room.

The next day was spent out at the Grand Ole Opry. Which, is HUGE. First we toured the Opry. Next we walked thru the Museum. We also toured the Opryland convention center/hotel/coolest place in Nashville! It was absolutely beautiful. Hard to describe so I would say just check out the pictures (as always... to the left, to the left). That night we watched a concert put on by a large list of people (Porter wagoner, Bellamy Brothers, Bill Anderson, Jimmy Dickens ~ very funny!, Trace Adkins ~ super tall!, Kellie Pickler ~ looooved her!, Pat Greene, and Jo Dee Messina). All in all, was my favorite day in Nashville. Unfortunately on the way back home the air died in my parents car... again!

So, our next day... the day to drive back to Atlanta started out a little later than planned. But, they thought they had the air working again so off we went. We took a quick detour thru the Jack Daniels distillery... and a bit of trivia for y'all... Jack is distilled in a dry county! Gotta love it. We did get our picture taken too while we were there. Check it out... can you find us in the line up?

We got back to the ATL around 8pm. We headed right back out to get some fabulous ribs at Fat Matt's Rib Shack. I think my Dad really, really liked it! Afterwards we headed down to Flicks on Fifth and watched Dream Girls for free! I love summer in Atlanta!

The next couple of days my parents helped me put the finishing touches on the apartment! It was wonderful, we got curtains hung, lights in (I now have a dining room light), I have a 'European' ice maker (aka ice cube trays), my closet door works, I have a dish towel holder, the balcony has a cover so I can sit outside and not get soaked and lights underneath of it, a step ladder so I can reach everything in the kitchen, and the bedroom is properly arranged. Also, they got me a tool box with some nice new power tools. Kendol, I have to say, is quite happy about the power tools. He didn't like it when I was trying to install everything after the move without the proper tools.

We also spent one day at my friend Victor's condo. He made us a fabulous dinner of boneless ribs, his home style mashed potatoes, and some veggies. It was wonderful. And I think everyone enjoyed the conversation, time with friends, and wonderful food. We stayed until after 11pm, but by that time we were all tired.

The next day, after a bunch of trips to home depot, ikea, the library and the mall we came home and finished all the projects that were listed above. While everyone was doing that I made us a steak dinner. It was wonderful and a dish that my friend Tahir, who has his food block on the left hand side of this blog, has made several times. There are a lot of versions of this dish, depending on what he or I have in the house, but they are all based on one thing, butter and high heat. Generally there is some kinda steak rub with whatever I have on hand which is put on room temperature steaks. Let that sit for about 15-20 minutes. Then I add some butter and honey. Pan seer it on high. Then the pan goes into the oven at anywhere between 350 to 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Let it sit 10 minutes (very important step... never leave this step out). Then a homemade sauce. Everyone seemed to love it! In my humble opinion no steakhouse can compare to my dish ;)~

Then, back to reality. Saturday morning when I got up for work my parents headed back home. They took a detour thru South Carolina so they could ride their motorcycles around the mountains. But they are back, safe and sound, in their own home. It was nice to have them here while it lasted.

However, that wasn't the end of the busy week for me. Saturday night was Ashley's birthday party. There were quite a few people taking pictures so I didn't even get my camera out but we had a blast. We went to an Italian restaurant out in the Highlands. Really cute, really good food! I was impressed. And I had bought a cake from Publix... always tasty!

On Sunday I had my normal shift at work and then went to Church. Then Monday was the usual Small Group.

Tuesday was anything but usual... I woke up and though, hmmm... my lip feels funny. I looked in a mirror and saw that my upper lip was sitting funny, a little puffy, and blotchy. And tingly. You know, like after you have a cavity filled, that kinda tingly. I think, well, maybe I just slept on it funny (maybe). So I wait but within a half hour my lower lip feels the same way. And then it starts spreading into the rest of my face and down into my neck. Hmm... I had my allergy shots the day before but they make you sit in their office for 20 minutes because if you have a reaction that's when it should happen. Non the less, I give the allergist a call. They tell me to take an allergy medication and then they write me a prescription and tell me to fill it and take it immediately. And, if the problems get worse see my doctor. I gotten 2 of the allergy tablets down but it was still getting worse so I called my doctor. They advise me to get the medication and go straight to their office. If I feel any difficulty breathing they asked that I skip their office and go right to the emergency room. I was scared to do that because the doctor is literally 2 miles from my apartment... the emergency room is a good 30 minute drive away.

But, I got my prescription and went straight to the doctors office. He looked at me and said it was a mild reaction, I shouldn't have to worry about breathing problems but injected me with a medication to help stop the numbing feeling much quicker than the prescription would do. After the injection I had to wait 30 minutes before I could leave and I could see why. It was a stimulant and it was like I drank a whole pot of really, really strong coffee. I was shaking!! It didn't help that I was afraid to eat that morning in case whatever I ate would aggravate my symptoms! But, after about 30 minutes I could once again pick up my glass of water and drink it. The doctor sent me home and told me to get some food in my stomach. I ate a ton when I got home and a few hours later I was no longer shaky... but really, really sleepy. I guess after the big high is the big low!

Yesterday Kendol and I were going to watch the last movie being played at Flicks on Fifth this summer, 300, however right when we left the apartment the heavens opened up and there was a huge lightning storm! Instead we stopped a Blockbuster and rented a movie!

Tonight I am hosting my first dinner party in the new place (thanks to mom and dad for all the help to make the dinner party possible). Victor, Roy, Ashley, Marcus, Carlos, and Britt should all be coming so I will have a full house. But I am ready! I am making lasagna, salad, and a fruit dessert. I am excited. Ok, now to take 30 minutes to clean, an hour at the pool, and time to start cooking!

More Pictures

I am sitting at home enjoying a relaxing Friday afternoon (well, for me its more like a morning... I slept in way too long). But, in the mist of watching Sex & The City re-runs I decided to upload some pictures that have been taken in the last week. I added them to the list on the left hand side. There are a few from the Peachtree Road Race from July 4 and some from VJ's graduation party last night. Enjoy!

Ok, time to get back to relaxing (and maybe a little cleaning)!

I'm in a VIDEO!!

Hehehe!!! If you have been keeping up in my blog you know that Ciara & 50 Cent shot a music video in front of my apartment about a month ago. Well, the video is out... and I didn't get cut!! Hehe!! Its a VERY quick shot, but if you watch it...



you will see that Kendol and I are sitting on the front stoop of my then apartment (now last) as she walks by in a yellow short suit. I am excited to at least be in the video!! P.S. the street she is walking down is never that clean (they kept watering down the sidewalk) nor that busy. You almost never see anyone sitting outside their apartments. But, still... very cool!

Heineken Party - Glenn Hotel

Last night I rounded up a few of my friends and we went to a release party for the new Heineken Light Slim can. The party was held at the new Glenn Hotel (formerly Bed Atlanta - where Victor's birthday party was) and we had a ton of fun!! There was free Heineken (the only beer I really drink) so we all enjoyed the music (the DJ rocked!!) !!

Only 5 more days until the big move! I am really excited for the change and am looking forwarded to a smaller place. We have just about everything boxed up and hopefully just enough boxes for the rest of the stuff we still have out. Although I am looking forward to the moved I will miss being neighbors with my friends Ashley and Marcus as well as the view from the apartment.

There is always something going on around here and that saying has never been more true than last Thursday. I was getting ready for Screen on the Green (last week they played Carwash) when Kendol came home and told me I had to move my car. Apparently my car was the only one still on the street in front of my apartment and there was something going on that they had to have it moved. After moving the car we noticed more and more people gathering in the empty lot across the street but because there are a lot of creative students around here (there is tons of different student housing within one mile in every direction of my apartment) we didn't think much of it. Then we got a knock on the door, answered it, and was asked by a nice female if we would mind if they used our stoop in a video that they were shooting. I didn't mind but out of curiosity I asked who or what the video was for. Apparently it was for a Ciara and 50-Cent video for the newly-released song 'Can't Leave 'Em Alone.' How exciting!! Since we were just sitting around inside the house we decided to sit outside and watch all the people at work... I was amazed at how many people it takes to put together a video! But, even more amazing they asked if we wanted to be in the video!! We are just background and all we did was sit on my front stoop and smile and wave as she walked by but it was fun!! We'll see if they keep us in the video or edit us out (I will let you know once the video is released) but it was fun to be a part of the commotion. I tried to take some pictures outside but was told that wasn't allowed so I took some pictures from my bedroom window of Ciara. I didn't see 50-Cent until we were about to leave for Screen On The Green and he was a little ways away on another street so I didn't get any pictures of him but you can check out the pictures I did take by clicking on the link on the left hand side.

You can thank my parents for the expanding picture section... they got me my camera for Christmas!!

Packing

Today is day #1 for packing. We got some of the items off the walls and got a couple of boxes packed (mainly wine glasses and such from the kitchen). I figure if we get a box or 2 packed every week then the last week we should be in pretty good shape. I have already gone thru the closet and the kitchen and got rid of a lot of items that are not used. Once we get into the new place I will have to get rid of anything that just doesn't fit.

Kendol and I will be going to a apartment-warming party for a friend of his tonight. I put together, what I thought to be, really cute house warming gifts!! Tell me what you think...

Yesterday, Kendol and I went to a taping of the Tyler Perry Show. He is a comedian who has done movies and TV. Right now he has a show called Tyler Perry's House of Payne. But he is wanting to start a talk show, which is what we went to. We were part of the 'live-studio-audience' and had a lot of fun... now lets see if this show actually goes on air!

After the show we went to Piedmont Park to watch Casablanca for 'Screen on the Green.' We met up with Marcus (Ashley was still working), Tod and Marie, and a couple of Marcus's friends. The nice thing about having Thursdays off is I am able to get there early enough to get us good seats. The show starts at dusk (about 9pm) and Kendol and I had gotten there around 6pm and we brought a picnic dinner (I had made BBQ Chicken the night before so we had the leftovers in sandwich form, watermelon, and the broccoli/cauliflower salad that I make) and a bottle of wine for while we waited. We got there a little late however and next week I am planning on being there around 4:00 so we can get a really good seat! I love sitting in the at the park anyway so this just give me a good excuse!!

And, starting next Wednesday 'Flicks on Fifth' starts again!! There are free movies and it takes place, most appropriately, on Fifth Street. Its fun being in the park and there are a lot more people who show up for Screen on the Green (I would guess there were 30,000 people there that night) however Flicks plays newer movies, ones that just came out of the theater, so that is fun too!

Sick Day

I stayed home from work today... I am not feeling well (again). And, I am not the only one, Kendol isn't feeling well either. But, we don't have the same things... I have a massive headache, sore throat, and achy. He has a stuffy nose and just feels bad. It would make so much more sense if we had the same problems!! Hehe.

Strawberries!!!

Kendol and I spent today surrounded by strawberries!! We drove out to Fayetteville (about 40 minutes away) and picked about 16 pounds of them. LOL!! Ton, I know. But, we made a lot of jam and one really nice strawberry pie out of them. And, obviously we still have some left over for snacking! Love it.

A lot of the day was actually spent looking for the jars to put the jam in and the Sure Jell to make the jam with. Apparently, not many people actually can food any more. I didn't realize... hehe! But, we found (large) mason jars at Big Lots and finally found the Sure Jell at Publix. The manager at Wal-Mart said they only carry canning supplies in the canning season. Which perplexed me, I assumed we were in the canning season as I was looking for canning supplies. Anyhoo...

We did have a lot of fun and will not run out of jam this year!! I will also have some to give to friends and Kendol's mom. I am guessing they will enjoy it. For pictures check out my food blog. Enjoy! I know I will!

(another) move!

yes, its true... I am moving again. Packing up my bags and moving just down the street from where I lived last year. Ok, so its back in Buckhead (aka North Atlanta) but its got what I need... a cheaper price tag.

In my quest for culinary school I decided I needed to reduce my monthly cost of living. Once I honestly looked at my living expenses there were quite a few key items that needed to be cut back... the very top of the list was where I rest my head. My apartment has been costing about half my pay every month so it was only economical to change.

I am moving into a studio at Heights of Lenox (floor plan is A2 for those who are interested) and it will enable me to really increase my savings. Its also in a very central location ~ a block from Lenox mall - huge mall, and a Marta station - the ATL underground train, and within walking distance to Publix, Target, a movie theater, tons of restaurants, and my church. Its very wooded though and by looking out the window of my apartment you wouldn't tell that its a busy area - except you can see the sign for Bloomindale's above the tree line. And, if gas prices become too high (or my car decides to officially break down) I can walk a block to Marta and take the train 2 stops to the CCT (Cobb County Transit) which will take me right to my job. Right now its not very economical since I would have to get passes to 2 different busing systems but you never know what gas prices will do!

I am pretty happy with the decision!!

Fire

Here is what I woke up to outside my apartment at 9am this morning... thought it was interesting. I heard a noise, what I thought was someone hitting a car (other people said it sounded like a gun shot), but when I looked outside I realised it was neither... it was a vehicle on fire. It was parked, no one was in it, but it was on fire. Sounds suspect to me. As you can see, most of my neighbors were home to but luckily the police was here before the pictures were taken and the fire department were not far behind. Still, all the smoke set off the fire alarms in the complex... very noisy. So, I sat outside and watched the fire department put out the blaze.

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

So, I have added a whole bunch of new pictures to my list. I have some from a day at Piedmont Park, some from the trip that Kendol and I took to Savannah, and some from a walk around Midtown Atlanta. They are listed on the left hand side. I had fun getting them together and I hope you have fun looking at them.

A few other changes...

My job. Still at the same one but I have a new schedule. I now work Saturday thru Tuesday, which sounds horrible but I work 8 or less hours a day so I have been working between 28 and 32 hours a week. Soooo nice!! Also, I got a raise! Don't ask how I pulled off the two, I don't even know, but I am enjoying it while it lasts!

I am sleepy all the time again. So, I am back in the doctors office, however I now have a new doctor. One big problem with my previous doctor is that her office is now about 1 hour away from my apartment so driving out there was a chore, especially when I was not feeling well. I when to my friends Marcus & Ashley's doctor and I love him. Hopefully he will be able to get to the bottom of my sleeyness. All I know, is that if I sit down at home (or sometimes at a friends house) I fall asleep. Last night I slept 11 hours and then took an hour nap this afternoon. Now, this would be bragging if I was still going out every night, but with the new schedule I haven't gone out at night in a few weeks!

I have been looking into culinary school. I love to cook (and have started a cooking blog... check it out if you want... its also on the left hand side) and have not been enjoying my line of work (besides the new reduced schedule) so I thought about going back to school. However, after seeing the cost of going to school I decided I need to get some money saved up. I am back on a good budget. My biggest expense is my apartment so I am starting to look at another apartment that would be about half what I pay here. We'll see what I find.

Running. Now that its warm I am running outside again. I ran my longest run ever, about 7 or 8 miles. I ran all over Midtown and it took about 1 and 1/2 hours. I was sore this morning but still got up and went to the gym this morning.

Northside Drive

So, interesting that I was not the only one with a sore back... it must run in the family!!

And for those interested... yes, I was affected by the bus accident that happened in Atlanta. And for those who are not aware:

A bus full of college baseball players was in the HOV lane going south on I-75 and took the Northside Drive exit. The driver didn't realize that he had taken the exit and thinking he was still on the expressway; went up the bridge, went straight thru the intersection, broke thru a barrier, and toppled upside down over the bridge back onto I-75 South blocking all lanes southbound. The bus driver, his wife and 4 of the players passed away. There are still quite a few people in various hospitals around Atlanta.

The Northside drive exit is the one I generally take to go to and from work and since I don't have the TV on in the morning I didn't realize until I was at the bridge that I couldn't take my normal exit (I go North) so I had to detour to another road. It was very backed up with everyone on the expressway taking it since they couldn't go south. But, I eventually made it to work.

Yesterday, Victor drove me home. We took the same exit that the bus accident had occurred on and Atlanta DOT has added a ton of signs signifying that its an exit and that you must stop at the top of the hill.

My car is still in pieces. Marcus got to the part the mechanic said was the problem and he found it to be fine. So, he has purchased another part that could be the issue and he will be replacing both. Hopefully it will be done soon. Luckily Victor has been giving me rides to and from work and Marcus and Ashley have been letting me borrow their cars when necessary.

And, this weekend may be one of those times. They have changed our schedules so that 2 times a year we have to work 2 weekends in a row. This weekend is the first of my 2 weekends, so I will either have my vehicle back (fingers are crossed) or I will borrow Marcus and Ashley's.

Otherwise, it has been beautiful here in the ATL. In the 70's for the past week. Last weekend Kendol and I spent a lazy Sunday at Piedmont Park. He loves to paint so we brought some food and drinks, had a picnic, and he painted. Quite a few people stopped by our blanket to see what he was making. I did a lot of people watching and helped him paint a little bit.

Its supposed to 'cool off' here this weekend and get into the 60s and rain. But, they said the same thing about last weekend. Either way, I will be working 10 hour days so I hope its cold and rainy (mean and spiteful, I know)!

1921-2007

This week has been uncannily busy...

To start with my Grandpa (on my Dad's side) passed away last Friday and I was able to find a flight that I could afford on Midwest up to Michigan on Saturday. The flight I booked had a layover in Milwaukee and when I got to the terminal I found that my flight had been delayed longer than the layover time and Midwest had no other flights to Michigan that I could take so they booked me on Delta. Luckily I made it at the same time on the Delta flight as I would have on the Midwest flight however my luggage did not. We were unsure when, or if, the luggage would arrive so the first thing that we did was go to the mall and get me a 'just-in-case' outfit.

After picking up the outfit I was dropped off a group of cousins and cousin's friends for Jenny's co-ed bachelor(ette) party. Unfortunately I was in the same jeans & t-shirt that I wore on the plane (just a side note... I had left 70 degree weather in the ATL for the 'blizzard' conditions of MI) but I was able to get into every bar and had a blast dancing. I never realized how much easier it is to dance in flats, instead of heels! The bachelor and bachelorette didn't quite make it to midnight before having to go home and in order to keep the party going we needed a new bachelorette and I was designate... by process of elimination (by that time we were down to my cousin Marie, her friend Vicki, and myself - and everyone in the club knew the other 2). As the designated bachelorette I carried the baton (aka whip/tickler) proudly and I used it unsparingly... on the dance floor. We had more fun then 3 ladies should before my brother came back to the club to pick us up.

I was happy to see my luggage had arrived on Sunday morning but I still wore most of the 'JIC' outfit that was purchased the day before at the showing for my Grandfather. My old clothes went very well with the new ones and the funeral home did a very good job with everything.

Monday was the funeral and it was held at the VA hospital that my Grandpa had been staying at. It was a beautiful service and I, with everyone else, shed a few tears. It was sad to see him go but knowing where he has gone, I know he is happy to be there.

Afterward we all ate and then a group of us cousins went shopping (I can't seem to get enough it) at a local mall. Marie and I ended out the night with her showing me a few more Grand Rapids pubs.

Tuesday morning my parents, Marie, and I went to breakfast, stopped by my Grandma's house to say good-bye and then I was back to the airport for my flight home. I was picked up at the ATL airport by Kendol. I could tell he had missed me... he had picked me up with some very beautiful flowers in hand!

I had taken Wednesday off work to give myself time to wind down. I woke up to a very beautiful, sunny, 70 degree day so off for a run I went. But, I think the stress of the weekend had finally caught up to me... not long after getting back home my back knotted right up! After a few back rubs, some icy/hot, and a heating pad my back is finally starting to loosen up.

Still, a sore back has never stopped me so last night Marcus, Ashley, Kendol and I headed out to Wild Bills (OTP - Outside The Perimeter - the country bar I took my family when they visited during Christmas) for FIGHT NIGHT!!! I had never been to a boxing match before but my first time was a lot of fun. There were quite a few different matches including 1 with 2 females fighting each other. They were quite entertaining!!

Today Marcus picked up my car and started tearing it apart for me. I have been losing coolant and found that the problem was a part in the engine. The mechanic wanted to charge me a ton for it but Marcus told me he could do it for me. He thought he could finish the job in one day but once he got started he found that it would take longer than than. I am hoping to have my car operational by mid-week... but the time is worth it for the money being saved.

Then Victor called me with a ticket to watch the Hawks play the Knicks and Roy was kind enough to pick me up. Roy, Victor, Mike, and I walked from Roy's house (less than 1/2 mile) to the Phillips Arena to watch the game. It was fun!!

Tomorrow doesn't look like its going to be any less busy... after going to church, I will be going with Kendol to meet his Mom. After that I need to get some studying in for the CCNA exam that I still need to take. The last few weeks have not been so good for hitting the books. But, I should be getting back into it now...

Hope you are having a great week!!