Primo anniversario, May 30th-June 4th

Singleton St. We're Famous!
Kennedy Space Center, Daytona, FL
Space Shuttle Heaven
Atlas with the world on his shoulders;)
R2D2, anyone?
Where astronauts spend their last 3 hours on earth
Old spacesuit
The "Big Tron"
Former NASA astronauts talking the crowd through the launch.
The best surf shop in the world! Flip flops abound.
Baby alligators
Ta dah
Ah, nostalgia



Dinner at Charthouse. Best meal of my life (and that's saying alot)!

Don't worry, Ma, they're henna. They wash off !

Never knew this business actually existed.


The End

Popular Folklore of America

I picked up the most fascinating book in the Nola Brantley Library today. Poplorica: A Popular History of the Fads ... is an aptly named book that tells "the rest of the story" behind America's greatest "fads, mavericks, inventions and lore", for example, disposable diapers, TV dinners, and how the sexual revolution of the 60's and 70's all started with a man named Kinsey.

However, with all the cool and disturbing stuff, the fad that perturbs me the most is 'How Thin Became "In"'.

It never occurred to me that Americans, especially women, didn't always have this drive to lose excess bulge, which I lovingly call "curves." The Battle of the Bulge used to be a concern reserved for the extremely weathly. And now for only pennies, all of America could read Diet and Health, With Key to the Calories, by Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters. Dr. Peters wrote the first best-selling weight loss manual. As a child of the early 80's, it's hard to believe that dieting didn't start with late-night infomercials of Tony Little and Susan Powter.

The bad news first: She preached to women specifically and spoke of the "evils of excess flesh, proclaiming that extra pounds were not just unattractive but immoral, and that fat people suffered from a lack of willpower." Some of these things have some truth, but it was her overwhelmingly negative spin on body image that helped create eating disorders for many women . She pushed the 1200 calorie-day-diet and forever equivocated happiness with the right diet. And ladies, that was in 1918!!! It's almost 100 years later, and we all still feel it, even men.

Now this isn't a tirade against T-shirts that unabashedly state "No Fat Chicks," however, I have always wondered how America came to favor the ever-worshipped 'thin' versus the pleasingly plump body, which used to signify wealth and status. I have always fought my weight, as has every woman in my life, but I'm learning that I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It People Like Me;) Good ol' Stuart Smalley skits of Saturday Night Live still cracks me up.

A little known fact: Around 1904, Lillian Russell was the picture of sexy and healthy, at as much as 186 lbs. (I, myself, have weighed more than this) and 5'6''. She was a Broadway actress and singer.

So if you ever get down on yourself, remember two words: Balance (in your lifestyle) and Confidence (in your step). Oh, and fat days…we all have them!

Silly Cat, Bags are for Groceries

Alright, Folks, we don't have kids, so we blog about the cute, or in this case, the mildly stupid, things our cats do. I'm not a cat person, until they do things like this.

How to make your own CAT-IN-A-BAG :

Step 1


Step 2


Step 3


Step 4


TA-DAH!


And here Obi is helping me fold laundry...

...or is he just getting my laundry all cat hairy?

Space Shuttle Discovery Launch, Mission STS-124, May 31st, 2008

For the first time in my life, Brian's 2nd, I got to see a shuttle launch. Here are a couple of videos I shot. Sorry, most of them are sideways and shakey, and yes, that's us screaming in the background like 2 little kids. Info about why we launched another rocket below.








STS-124 Space Shuttle Discovery Prepares for Launch

Mission: STS-124 Discovery
Launch Date: May 31, 2008
Launch Time: 5:01 p.m. ET

The crew of STS-124 will deliver the Japanese Pressurized Module, the station's largest science laboratory as well as the lab's robotic arm system that supports operations outside of Kibo. The lab's logistics module, which was installed in a temporary location during STS-123 in March, will be attached to the new lab.

The seven-member crew of STS-124 Space Shuttle Discovery includes Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Ken Ham, Mission Specialists Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Greg Chamitoff. Chamitoff will replace Expedition 16/17 Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman and remain aboard the station as a member of the Expedition 17 crew. Reisman will return to Earth with the STS-124 crew.

My 43 Things

My friend Amanda Lily Gross got me interested in the site 43things.com. It's a great way to log things that you want to do. She's got her own list posted at her blog donthitsnooze.blogspot.com

Anyway, here's my current list.

School's Out for the Summer...Almost!

Hey, Kids,
My life was threatened if I didn't update our blog, so here goes:

Friday, May 23rd, was my last day with students at PCHS. Super excited about that, and go figure, so were all the students. I "graduated" my first seniors. It was weird but really cool at the same time. I got to wear my school colors on a hood with my gown for the first time. Luckily, no mortar boards were required of us.


I have post-planning (really, really don't want to go) on Tuesday and Wednesday. I will be performing for Peach County Idol for some moolah. It's my last hurrah at the high school. On Wednesday at 3pm, I will be done with Peach County High School FOREVER!! This past year has been the roughest I've ever experienced and 99% of that was because of my job. Now that I'm almost done, I wake up every morning excited to see what's next. It's pretty awesome, because I haven't felt this way in 9 months.

However, through all the crap that I've endured this year, I continue to learn one lesson over and over: This too shall pass. I looked it up on Biblegateway.com and it is actually not in the Bible. It is simply a Hebrew saying. Click HERE for the Jewish folktale. Also, I'm not the only one struggling at any one time, nor is my situation as dire as I think it is. God has been good by bringing us through this first year.

Now--CELEBRATION! I tell Brian almost every day that he is worth me taking the job at Peach County, and, that despite my job, we have had a great first year together. That's right, we will celebrate our 1 year anniversary on June 2nd. We're going to Florida on Friday, May 29th to live it up on the beach. I can't wait to get some sun and surf...and eventually knock myself in the head with my boogie board. Yes, I do it everytime I go to the beach. I always manage to suck down a little ocean water.

Speaking of the ocean, my mom and dad let me watch Jaws at an early age, and the next time, we visited my cousins in Florida, I wouldn't go into the water. Hmmmm...wonder why? Thankfully, I'm over it.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT INTO GRAD SCHOOL!

You should know the jist of this post by the title. I got an email from Dr. Simons saying that I got into Mercer University to pursue a Master's of Music in Choral Conducting:

"When we receive the letters [recommendation letters], your file will be completed, and I can send an official letter. In the mean time, I will tell you that you are going to be officially accepted into the program. We are also going to offer an assistantship to you. We do not know the duties as yet.
Please get those letters in so we can make this official. Good job. "


HAHA! So excited that I have a place in the universe next year. So I will be working part-time somewhere this summer and then working my tail off the next two years. Thanks for everyone's encouragement and prayers.

Love,
J

Oh, and I will be traveling to Texas this week to see a friend that has returned from the Peace Corps. Kinda last minute, but I think I'll have fun celebrating with her and my family. Keep Brian company for me.