I have seen more car accidents, or wrecks as they call them here in Atlanta, than any other place I have been. I was prime witness the other day to the ridiculousness of some Atlanta drivers that topped a lot of what I have seen--oh how lucky I am. I was on the freeway in some city traffic, stop and go for a while. We were at a stop portion of this traffic, when for some reason the lady in front of me (I am just thankful she wasn't behind me) decides she wants it to be a go portion. So while everyone is dead stopped, she steps on the gas and hits the person in front of her. Oops, right? I guess that can happen to anyone, that is not the kicker.
She hasn't hit the person too hard, because she may have reached what, 5 miles an hour in the two feet she had to hit this person, but the man in front of her decides it is a situation that calls for his hazard lights. So instead of moving over to the margin (he was in the right lane already) he turns on his flashers. In stop and go traffic. While I am usually a person that realizes that if you are yelling at the people in front of you from the closed confines of your car, you are not getting anywhere, even I had to chime in at this point, "Come on! She barely bumped you, pull over, your car is completely still driveable!"
At this point the lady in front of me decides she is going to get out of her car in this traffic, so she opens the door and I continue talking to them, mindless of the fact that they can't hear me. Apparently, the man realizes his ridicoulousness--thank you, there is hope!-- and decides to pull over. Nice.
As I drive by, I wonder, was I supposed to stay because I was a witness? I never know the lines with that. Maybe I am just as ridiculous as them.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Saturday, April 17, 2010
New Orleans
I was very brave and tried a lot of new foods on the trip--catfish (had to purposefully NOT think about its whiskers, that it lives in nasty marshes, that it is a bottom dweller, etc.), crab, rabbit, gumbo, jambalya. This sandwich was pictured on the wall in a restaurant. Definitely was not that daring.
We visited a plantation and got a tour of the area. This is oak alley, properly named for the oaks that lead down to a river. Of course we got a mint julep as we walked around the site.
We went to a bar where they were having this dueling pianos sort of thing. My brother and I were the youngest there by at least 10 years! This is a picture of my dad and his friend's reflection in the piano. The sad part of that night was that my brother and I went back to the hotel about 2 hours before my dad and his friend. Hey, I never have claimed to be a party animal.
Of course we had to visit Cafe du Monde for their famous beignets and cafe au lait. Twice. Both right before dinner. Oh, actually 3 times if you count the morning we left and stopped there at 5:30 am to get cafe au laits and beignets to take home to Bob.
This was one of our favorite parts. A street band. Yes, that girl is actually playing a washboard. So cool.New Orleans
My bro and I drove to New Orleans after he came out to Atlanta for Easter. My dad was taking a vacation there and Tyler has some friends there, so since it was my spring break, it all worked out perfectly. The drive was about 7 1/2 hours and absolutely gorgeous. Here are some pictures of some of the rebuilding going on after Katrina. I will also post more "touristy"pictures.
This is a foundation where the house got knocked off. This was in the 9th ward, the part where the levy broke and most of the major flooding occurred. There was a park commemorating the flood and poles that showed the raising of the water each hour. I think the highest got up to 10 feet.
Apparently Brad Pitt is funding a lot of the new homes being build there. It has become an architectural playground since people are just happy to get homes paid for them. Many of the styles are extremely modern and don't seem to fit in. The one pictured here is pretty mellow.
This was a picture captured at sunset of a boat on the water.
My brother's friend Melanie works at this wonderful charter school that has been given a lot because it was the first school to open after the flooding. Naturally I was interested because of my background in education and all of the research I have been doing in schools lately. This school has an amazing end of the day program where students have dozens of electives they can pick from. Some include African drums, baseball, and dance.
This is a foundation where the house got knocked off. This was in the 9th ward, the part where the levy broke and most of the major flooding occurred. There was a park commemorating the flood and poles that showed the raising of the water each hour. I think the highest got up to 10 feet.
Apparently Brad Pitt is funding a lot of the new homes being build there. It has become an architectural playground since people are just happy to get homes paid for them. Many of the styles are extremely modern and don't seem to fit in. The one pictured here is pretty mellow.
This was a picture captured at sunset of a boat on the water.
My brother's friend Melanie works at this wonderful charter school that has been given a lot because it was the first school to open after the flooding. Naturally I was interested because of my background in education and all of the research I have been doing in schools lately. This school has an amazing end of the day program where students have dozens of electives they can pick from. Some include African drums, baseball, and dance. Alice Waters started the concept of an Edible School Yard and donated this to the school. Students learn about gardening and then use what is grown in the garden for the cooking class taken in the kitchen (pictured below) donated by Emerill. The school is also starting to offer classes to families relating to health and cooking.
Easter
My brother came out for Easter and we got to celebrate with friends who don't have family around either. There ended up being 18 of us! Apparently, not a lot of people in Atlanta have family here. We had a potluck at our house--yum!-- and then went down to the river to hang and play. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Here are some pictures from the day.
My bro and I.
For the record, this was not posed (Bob would be so embarassed if he knew because he thinks he looks stupid). I thought it was great, they totally look like they are modeling for some magazine.
My bro and I.
For the record, this was not posed (Bob would be so embarassed if he knew because he thinks he looks stupid). I thought it was great, they totally look like they are modeling for some magazine.Wasting away again in Margaritaville
When Bob and I visited my aunt in Arkansas last summer, she made us these killer margaritas and I just had to have the recipe. Her and her husband have started a Saturday night margarita tradition, which I have not done (yet) but think is a fine idea. Bob and I just bought all the ingredients--expensive to start up, but will keep for a while--and finally made our first round. Although we did not "waste away", we did enjoy the beverage. Although we realized that it may be better to make glassfuls than pitcherfuls. because when you make a pitcher you find yourself drinking it every day. Which is not what I want to be doing.Bob and I have decided to go to Mexico this summer to the Mayan Riviera area to celebrate our 5th anniversary and I hope to be drinking a couple of these. If you are looking for a good recipe, let me know and I can email it to you!
Running the Georgia ING half marathon
For some reason, I have always wanted to run. When I moved to Georgia, I met a neighbor who was getting into running, so we started to do it together. She was with me when I ran my first mile-- thanks Whitney:) I knew that to keep me going I would have to make a goal, so I decided to sign up for the big Atlanta half marathon. I put the training schedule up on my fridge and kept running. Because the winter was so cold and rainy here, I had to do most of my training on the treadmill. None of my friends would sign up with me, so I got used to running with my music.
The morning of (this picture is at like 5:30 in the morning) my faithful husband got up with me to ride the MARTA--the Atlanta railway-- and to support me during my race. Because there were 18,000 participants, the railway was crowded and I was asking myself why I was doing this again because I absolutely hate crowds. Even more unpleasurable was the fact that although I got a nice seat on the MARTA, the guy standing in front of me did not, and let's just say that I did not appreciate how short his shorts were. People need to use discretion when choosing running shorts, or at least have friends to tell them what is inappropriate. Anyway, I spent most of my time diverting my eyes.
Then of course, because I am female and me, when I got there I had to use the restroom, which is the port-a-john, I guess fancier that the original port-a-potty. So after waiting in a long line, I used the bathroom. By the time I was done, the race had started, but because there were so many people it didn't matter that I was late. Thousands still needed to cross the staring line. Wonderful Bob was waiting for me at the 2 mile mark to give me a high 5 and then headed off to the 10 mile mark to see me again. When I met up with him then, he ran alongside me for a moment to encourage me (I picked a good one).
This is a picture of me at the end--how tired do I look! I got to see some pictures taken of me by the race photographers and they are so funny. There is one where I look like I am sniffling and the one where I am crossing the line, I remember trying to smile but it looks more like a grimace. I was very happy with my time and loved that when Bob and I went to get burgers and fries and I didn't even care about how much I ate. The race had massage therapists in training that we could sign up to get a ten minute massage, so of course I was all over that. It was a great day and I am a huge proponent now that anyone can be a runner if I can.
The morning of (this picture is at like 5:30 in the morning) my faithful husband got up with me to ride the MARTA--the Atlanta railway-- and to support me during my race. Because there were 18,000 participants, the railway was crowded and I was asking myself why I was doing this again because I absolutely hate crowds. Even more unpleasurable was the fact that although I got a nice seat on the MARTA, the guy standing in front of me did not, and let's just say that I did not appreciate how short his shorts were. People need to use discretion when choosing running shorts, or at least have friends to tell them what is inappropriate. Anyway, I spent most of my time diverting my eyes.Then of course, because I am female and me, when I got there I had to use the restroom, which is the port-a-john, I guess fancier that the original port-a-potty. So after waiting in a long line, I used the bathroom. By the time I was done, the race had started, but because there were so many people it didn't matter that I was late. Thousands still needed to cross the staring line. Wonderful Bob was waiting for me at the 2 mile mark to give me a high 5 and then headed off to the 10 mile mark to see me again. When I met up with him then, he ran alongside me for a moment to encourage me (I picked a good one).
This is a picture of me at the end--how tired do I look! I got to see some pictures taken of me by the race photographers and they are so funny. There is one where I look like I am sniffling and the one where I am crossing the line, I remember trying to smile but it looks more like a grimace. I was very happy with my time and loved that when Bob and I went to get burgers and fries and I didn't even care about how much I ate. The race had massage therapists in training that we could sign up to get a ten minute massage, so of course I was all over that. It was a great day and I am a huge proponent now that anyone can be a runner if I can.Spring is Here!
It has been a long time--like 2 months-- since I last posted a blog. In fact, I thought about abandoning it altogether, being of the mindset that if you can't do something well, or at least consistently, then why do it. I am learning however, to let go and just allow life to take its course. Now that spring is here and FINALLY kicked winter out the back door, I actually am out of hibernation and am starting to actually do things that are worth blogging about. Not to mention, my job is slowing down so I have a bit more time.
Although it is very fun to have seasons, winter is definitely not my favorite. I learned a lot though about death (all the beautiful green turns brown come winter) and the way my soul feels when it is cold too long. I must admit though that if winter hadn't been so rough, I would not have been so enthusiastic about spring, or the sun in general.
The colors around here are breathtaking. We have lots of green, beautiful dogwoods, tulips and daffodils. It is not quite hot enough for the humididty or the mosquitoes, so Bob and I have deemed it the perfect season. If you ever want to come visit Atlanta, April is the time.
I can't believe we have almost been here a full year. We moved to Atlanta late July so we have almost seen all of the months and the seasons. I am thankful for the blessings and the hardships that God has graciously allowed us to experience and am happy to be writing about it again!
Although it is very fun to have seasons, winter is definitely not my favorite. I learned a lot though about death (all the beautiful green turns brown come winter) and the way my soul feels when it is cold too long. I must admit though that if winter hadn't been so rough, I would not have been so enthusiastic about spring, or the sun in general.
The colors around here are breathtaking. We have lots of green, beautiful dogwoods, tulips and daffodils. It is not quite hot enough for the humididty or the mosquitoes, so Bob and I have deemed it the perfect season. If you ever want to come visit Atlanta, April is the time.
I can't believe we have almost been here a full year. We moved to Atlanta late July so we have almost seen all of the months and the seasons. I am thankful for the blessings and the hardships that God has graciously allowed us to experience and am happy to be writing about it again!
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