Out of the rut once again

I had a fabulous Friday, starting with my catch-up breakfast with Cath. I loved having the chance to see her in person and check in with her about life. It was a great start to my weekend. 

In the afternoon, I was smart and took a nap before our big Friday out of the rut night. We had plans to go out with Joe and Michele (our neighbors who moved to the other side of town last year) and another couple, Matt and Amy. Those four are good friends through their second grade daughters. And, as it turns out, Matt was a priest in our previous parish. Matt left the priesthood about 11 years ago. He ended up marrying Amy about 10 years ago and they have an 8 year old daughter. We couldn't be happier for Matt. He was a great priest and it was a loss for the Catholic church, but it is evident that Amy and their daughter are what God intended for him. In any case, we had a fun night out planned and it did not disappoint!

We met at Joe and Michele's then hopped into a mini-van taxi and headed into the city. The first stop was Greek Islands. We "ubered" it to the Union League for dessert. We sat at the best round table right smack dab in the middle of the newly remodeled Rendezvous. Great acoustics so we could talk and hear each other. We covered so many different topics. We left the Club and ubered it to Rush Street. We made a few fun stops and ended up not getting home til 3 am!!! It was such a great evening. There is something special about hanging out with Joe and Michele. And spending time with Matt and Amy too was icing on the cake. 

The only downside of our fabulous Friday was the fact that I could barely move yesterday. I was so tired!! About all we got accomplished was going to 5pm mass and then going to Christy and Steve's to sit by their outdoor fireplace with them and Mark and Cath. That is one of the best ways to spend a Saturday night. And it was a good thing to have a chill Saturday aaaallllll day long. 

A busy start to my summer

It has been a busy and productive summer so far. My school year was officially completed two weeks ago today and I was able to hit the ground running with my summer work. It has helped in my transition into the different summer routine. I am a person who definitely needs some structure in my day. It helps to organize me. On Tuesday, I had my first day without any place I had to be at a certain time (other than picking up Jack at the airport at 9:30 which turned out to be 10:30 because of weather delays). I was kinda at a loss for a while, then got my groove going.
Tomorrow I am having breakfast with Cath, one of my favs, and then a little summer speech therapy and then it is the weekend.
I do love summer :)
Check out this picture I took Tuesday night around 7pm when I went out to run some errands.

Back in Town

Jack and I made it back safely on Monday night. It was a beautiful wedding, a lovely weekend and a great change of pace all around.
Lindsay and Mark were married at Frogtown Cellars, a winery in Dahlonega, at 6 pm Saturday night. The setting was beyond gorgeous. So picturesque. Mark was such a darling groom. He was choked up and/or cried throughout most of the ceremony, as did Lindsay. The reception was awesome as well. We were seated at table 1 with parents of the bride, along with Chuck and Teri. So special.
Here's some good news and some bad news:
Good news- I brought my good camera
Bad news- I left the memory card in my computer.
So no pictures basically. I did take a few with my phone, but not my usual 100 plus photos.

We left Dahlonega around noon on Sunday. We were planning on stopping in Elizabethtown KY for the night. We hit some traffic and were getting hungry for a decent dinner, so Jack called Marriott from the road and we switched our reservation to a Courtyard in Bowling Green KY. It worked out perfectly. There was a great restaurant just across the parking lot from the hotel and we were able to get some reservations and walk over there. In the morning, we had one of the very best breakfasts that I had ever eaten. Jack asked Siri (on the iPhone) for a breakfast restaurant recommendation and she told us about Teresa's. I was skeptical when we got there. It didn't look like much. Well, I was mistaken. It. was. amazing. Homemade everything. Instead of toast, you could choose either grits or biscuits and gravy. Biscuits and gravy it was. The meal was just so fresh and simple and GOOD!
Let me just say that I am a big fan of Bowling Green. Great place to stop if you are ever on a road trip and need a place to sleep.

We arrived home around 5 pm, then got ourselves ready to go back to reality.  I had three MDCs (multidisciplinary conferences) for the summer evals scheduled for Tuesday and I was ready to go. I actually brought my computer with me on the trip and was able to finish everything up. I was glad Monday night that I didn't have to worry about that. After I finished the meetings, I stayed and worked on the handouts for the iPad class I am teaching. The class started today; it's 3 sessions, 3.5 hours each. Very fun. 

I am totally digging the busy-ness of my summer so far. 

A day of grand adventures

Jack and I are on the road. We left home Thursday afternoon with our ultimate destination being Dahlonega Georgia and the wedding of Lindsay and Mark. Lindsay is the daughter of Rick (our best man at our wedding) and his wife Pat. We decided to make a stop in Nashville. We made plans to rendezvous with Chuck and Teri to see their Brittany.
I love love love road trips. See the posts from our road trip last August. There is something special about watching the topography of our country change from hour to hour. We enjoyed a beautiful, peaceful drive to Nashville. I especially enjoyed my naps. There were several of them. Jack loves to drive and so I let him have that pleasure. I am so generous.
Yesterday, June 13th was an interesting day.
We started out with pouring rain in Nashville, but our moods were bright because we got to spend time with some of our favorites. We met Chuck and Teri at their hotel, then walked over to see their Brittany at work. Britt is also known as Producer Britt on the XM radio station The Highway. She is the on air producer of the show with the legendary Storme Warren. We got to sit in the studio while they were broadcasting and it was so cool to watch! Chase was there, waiting to say hi to everyone, then he had to go to work. The theme for the show was "Back in the Day", about the song that first got you into country music, also tying it in with Father's Day. How awesome that Chuck was there with his girl. They put him on the air and he shared Waylon Jennings' "What a Difference You Made in My Life", his courting song with Teri. Teri also was on air and Storme talked to her about the song that brought her back to country- "Drunk on a Plane". So funny. It was just such a special morning, watching Britt and her proud parents- plus getting a behind the scenes look at the making of a national radio show.

The four of us left Brittany and went to a late breakfast at a famous Nashville pancake house, Pancake Pantry. Afterwards, we went on a tour of Nashville, with Chuck as our chauffeur and Teri was our tour guide. I learned a ton about the city and got to see where Britt currently lives and where she will live after she and Chase get married. We saw the site that Chase's company is developing, called One City.

Around 2pm, we parted ways, Chuck and Teri in their car and Jack and I in ours, and headed for our next stop, Dahlonega, Georgia. It's about a 3 1/2 hour trip. Well, it's supposed to be. We were trucking right along, even went by the Bonnaroo Music Festival, when traffic on I-24 came to a standstill. There had been a huge accident involving two semis and a car, with fatalities and the highway was closed. For several hours. [NOTE: We said a prayer for those who were involved in the accident. We prayed for the families that would get that awful phone call. That put the rest of the day in perspective for us.] We were communicating with Chuck and Teri via texts and calls; they were about two miles ahead of us. After about an hour, it became clear that the only choice we had was to get off I-24. We did and headed back the other way. We had no real plan in place. Teri had given us some tips, based on their information. Jack and I ended up stopping in a Wal-Mart to go to the bathroom and get a card for Lindsay and Mark. As we were checking out, we mentioned to the clerk about the traffic issue and asked if she had any suggestions. Wow. Glad we did. This woman gave us the most helpful directions. I ended up getting out a pen and writing them down. She did not know any names of the roads, but her directions were so detailed and do you know what? They worked!!!

Along the way, we saw some gorgeous scenery and even a rainbow.

can you see the rainbow?

We ended up not getting to our inn, a little bed and breakfast place, til almost 10. The door was locked. The sign on the door said "Check in time 3m- 8pm". Awww geez. We were in the middle of the forest on a dirt road in the pitch black of night. Jack called the phone number that was provided but it just went to voicemail. In the meantime, Teri texted that they were still about 2 hours away. They had stopped for dinner. Smart. We had stopped once at Subway to get something to tide us over til dinner and I just ended up getting a Doritos big grab and Jack a small sandwich, so we were hungry. As we pondered what to do about our lodging and food, some other guests at the inn came home and let us in. There were nice notes for us and for Chuck and Teri. And as it turned out, the door was not supposed to be locked. We unloaded the car and then went back out looking for some food. 

At this point, I need to remind you that it is dark dark dark, wooded, hilly and twisty turny roads and 15 minutes to any place to eat. But I was beyond starving. We really had not eaten much since noon and by now it was 10:30. By the time we got back to the main road, the only thing open was the Taco Bell drive through. It worked. We got ourselves a variety 12 pack and took them back to the inn and enjoyed them with a bottle of wine we had in the cooler. David, one of the innkeepers, was there when we got back and was helpful and apologetic about the door being locked. We visited with him a bit, said a good night to Chuck and Teri when they got in. 

At the end of the day, it all worked out well and we have great memories and more stories to share. 

Today the sun is shining and we have a day to relax and enjoy before the 6pm nuptials. 

And here is the view from where I am blogging:

  Throughout the day and our little "grand adventure", I was reminded how blessed I am to be married to a guy who never gets impatient. With me or any situation. 

Life is a journey and patience is a virtue. 

Jenny's retirement party

We celebrated Jenny's retirement last Friday. Jenny hates to be the center of attention. She did not have much choice in the matter. Her school made it as low key as they could to honor her wishes, but there was no doubt about it, we were all there to celebrate Jen. There were three speakers who chronicled her teaching career and shared stories about her influence on kids over all of these years. The speakers were John (her principal for about 10 years), Ellen (a former coworker) and Micah (her team teacher in 5th grade for the past several years). The common theme was Jenny's strong interest in social emotional learning, even way before it was the thing to do. That has always been Jenny's passion. Micah made a statement that struck me. I can't quote it exactly, but the gist was that you don't worry about learning how to row a boat if there is a hole in it and it is taking on water. You make it whole first. And that is true of students. Very profound. Jenny has always been good at understanding her students' needs. I loved Ellen's stories of Jenny's role as a detective and how, with her methods, she could get the truth out of just about any 5th grader. And I loved when John choked up when he talked about Dane and Tom and about how important family is to Jenny. I cried pretty much off and on the whole night. 

I am so proud of my sister and her 30 year teaching career and the difference she has made in the lives of her students. 

Jenny and some Hawthorne friends (John included)

family

In the homestretch of another school year

I want to post about my very fun weekend and the two special events, Jenny's retirement party on Friday and Brittany and Chase's engagement party on Saturday...
but I have too much schoolwork to do!!!!
That's ok. I am in the homestretch.
My last day of Phono students is the day after tomorrow, so I have been updating IEPs, putting together summer packets and finishing up the paperwork for the last four annual reviews for this school year.
Yesterday morning I drove Jack to the airport, then came home and worked allll day. So productive (especially considering the fun I had at the party the night before!). It was perfect timing to have a Sunday with Jack out of town.
I did another three hours of work tonight after a kinda crazy day at school. Everything was a little bit off. Nothing bad, but lots of little things like a red gatorade that spilled in a student's backpack and a power outage at the school where I had one of the annual reviews at 3:15 today, bathroom accidents (my students, not me!), and a storm at lunchtime.
Then Jack was supposed to get in at 7 tonight, but that flight was cancelled, so he had to go through DC on a flight that was due in at 11pm. I just got back from picking him up.
But it's all good because it is JUNE.
The finish line is in sight.
I will post about my fun weekend later. :)