Pink Flamingo on Toast

Because of my schedule I was fortunate enough not to have to do the grocery shopping on the weekends. I would usually go around late Monday mornings. Last week was Christmas Eve and because I had to wait around for my sister-in-law to pick up her step-child I couldn't get to the strore until 1pm. Nightmare! I ended up only getting what we needed to be able to have something for dinner that night and put off the rest of the shopping until Wednesday. Which by the way was nice and quite, although the store shelves were very bare. So this week I decided to get up early and go. Before heading to Publix for the usually weekly fare, I thought I should take a ride over to the Middle School where I'm going to have my internship. I had never been there and am supposed to meet with my mentors and the head of Interpreters on Wednesday at 8:30am. So I printed my map from Google and headed out. Piece of cake! Just hope that traffic isn't bad on the road there. Guess I'l...

I was perusing the news when I came across this story . I was shocked at the example this mother is giving her child. I know that Hannah Montana tickets are a hot item right now but COME ON! I hope they strip those tickets from her and her Mom will have to explain to her why she isn't going to see Hannah Montana.

It's been a glorious week for any football fan! Jerry and I watched the Motor City Bowl . Was a good game...too bad the Chips couldn't pull it out(that's what she said)...so close. Then we watched the Champs Sports Bowl only to watch MSU lose. Sorry Mom and Dad... Every year Jerry gets tickets for the Gator Bowl, now called the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl from his grandfather. Last year I was lucky and the seat right next to him was open so I went along too. I got lucky again this year ...I think it will become a regular thing. Although neither one of us cares who is in this game, it's more for us to spend time with Jerry's Dad. To top things off it's Playoff season. (OK..I know..we have another week to go but still...Jaguars are in!) So we'll be watching the Jaguars and cheering them on.

Wishing you and your family a Very Merry Christmas!

Happy Festivus everyone!

Apparently that's my new name. As per the gift tag on the gift handed to me from Jerry's family this evening at their Christmas party. Now I could understand that if I were new to the family, however after 12 years... We just got done stuffing 48 little bags with treats for the Georgia Christmas tomorrow. Yee Haw!

That was Jerry and I today at the grocery store. We had to run in for soda and cat food. It was packed...slam packed. I felt lucky that we got a parking spot at all. People were driving crazy around that parking lot. I'm suprised we didn't see an accident. Be safe this weekend when you are out and about. People are stressed out and not thinking about how they should drive. In other news, Jerry and I watched The Simpsons Movie this past week. Very cute..and we can't stop singing the Spider-Pig song!

Today was spent watching the Jags win against the Steelers and getting ready for the upcoming holidays. We did a little bit of shopping yesterday. The bulk of the madness will be done this week. Today was a day of rest and preparation. I made sure my spreadsheets were up to date and even double checked some addresses before I head to the UPS store to ship out things. I'm thankful for my spreadsheets. They keep me organized from year to year. I'm dreading the stores. I'm not a shopper. I avoid the stores during peak hours and this time of the year it seems those quiet times are few and far between. I should have been shopping for the past month but to be honest, school was top on my priority list. I did get things that need to be mailed out this past weekend. So that's good. Ok..I'm rambling now...a symptom of the season I think So for those of you who have finished your shopping, I'm jealous. For those who are going out this week, May we find the strength to get...

That's right..It's officially my winter break. No more school..no more work (Yup, I quit) so bring on the relaxation and fun! I got 3 A's and a B this semester. Plus I passed Florida's Quality Assurance Written exam. (With a 93! ) I haven't even thought about Christmas yet. Jerry is off next week so he can help me. (Thanks for volunteering honey!)

I got a 93 !

So in approximately 4 hours I have the privilege of paying to take an exam. I'm both excited and nervous to take this test. It means I'm definitely starting my Interpreter career which is exciting. The nerves are normal, it's not like I'm sick to my stomach like I was earlier over the finals. In fact, I'm less nervous about this test than most others. I guess because I know I have been slowly accumulating all this knowledge and it's stuck! (thank goodness) So if you are at a loss of what to do at 6:30pm EST, think of me and send me some good test vibes. _\,,/

All day I had a queasy stomach in anticipation of tonight's finals. I gave it my best and that's all I can do. There was no way to prepare as they were both performance tests. Now I have a few days to focus on my state exam. I'm not really worried about that test at all. It's multiple choice. On Friday, I go for my internship interview at the school board. Should be cool. I'm really excited for December 13th when both school and work are done and I get a few weeks of nothingness.

I just maybe a sucker for any man who is an adventurer but Harrison Ford looks quite good in this photo of the next Indian Jones movie. I hope I age that well.

There is nothing better then freebies...Especially Christmas freebies. You should head over to iTunes and click on The Bird and the Bee sing Carol of the Bells. Get it before next Tuesday when their next freebie goes up. Enjoy ! _\,,/

This week is all about preparation for finals and the state exam next week. My stomach is a little queazy with all of this but I'll survive. (Cue Gloria Gaynor) Don't have much to say as my brain is a little distracted with lists of things to do. _\,,/

My folks came down from Michigan to spend the holiday with me. This is the first time they have come for Thanksgiving. It's been fun cooking with Mom and Dad all week to get ready but I'm ready to just enjoy visiting today. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! A Short list of Things I'm thankful for (in no particular order): My Husband My family My cat My friends My life I could do away with all the things but I couldn't do away with the people in my life. They are what really important. GO People!

I hate coming home at 7pm and hearing "What's for dinner?" I try to plan and what really helps me is my crock pot. It's so easy to throw everything in and leave it for the day. Sometimes the clean up can be annoying. Well today I'm trying Reynolds Crock Pot Liners . I just put in my carrots, potatoes , onions and roast and we'll see if it really is easier to clean up. I wonder if cooking in plastic is healthy..hmm...oh well..what doesn't kill me only makes me stronger!

Mom and Dad are coming down for Thanksgiving. They TXT'd me last night on my phone saying that they had arrived in Louisville, KY. They drive it takes them 3 days to get here because they only drive 8 hours a day. At least they TXT me. I love technology Jerry and I are scrambling around doing all those little things to prepare for them. Ok...I know I shouldn't have procrastinated on the laundry but I just hate it! So that's what I'm doing today. One load is in (new sheets for Mom and Dad's bed..300 count..ooo soft) and then it's on to tackle towels. Also have to go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving Dinner and the rest of the week. Think my folks would be okay with Olive Loaf sandwiches for the rest of their meals?

So after Lisa said she scored a Wii at her local Gamestop I was determined. I got on the phone between work and heading to my professors office for my interpreting review. SCORE! They have 3....I asked if they could hold one and they said no but to call back when I was on my way. I finished my meeting and headed home to get a quick bite to eat and let the maids in. (Parents will be here Tuesday and everything has to be just so). So they get here..I'm back in the car and heading to Gamestop. They were sold out. There was a gentleman perusing the games that said that he was just across the parking lot at Walmarts and they had several. I dashed out of the store and headed over. Sure enough..they had 3! I snatched one up along with a Wii Play box. So I called Jerry and told him my little story and we talked and decided to get Lego Star Wars : The Complete Saga as well. So I swung back into Gamestop to pick that up and to see about an MMO that is coming out (which the...

Okay..it's true, Jerry and I are NPR Geeks. We support our local NPR channel therefore we got an offer to see Michael Feldman's Whad'Ya Know? live here in Jacksonville on February 2nd. Jerry and I get a kick listening to this show on Saturdays when we are out and about. Going to a live recording will be that more exciting! I know..it's many months away but I just got the tickets. They aren't even available to the public yet. Just supports of the NPR channel. Ooo..exclusivity....

Those are the words from my professor after an interpreting/transliterating product in class! She said I made mistakes but owned those too. Yay! That's what I'm striving for....confidence. If you are going to make a mistake..make it as good as the rest of the product. Does that make sense?...anyway it does to me. Not much else going on...Oh yeah, I'm leaving my job at the relay center in mid-December. I really want to devote my time to my internship next semester and to be honest the 3 weeks of no work and no class sounds wonderful. If you want a good laugh check out Jerry's" blog ...the things he could do with another identity!

I really like Fridays. I don't go to work on Fridays. I don't have class on Fridays. Most of all I don't have to go to bed early on Fridays. I know it's silly to look forward to these small things but isn't it the small things that make life wonderful?

JackOLantern 003 Originally uploaded by gknee . I hope everyone has a fun and spooky day. I've already been attacked by either a ghoul or a ghost. They have chomped through a fan belt in my car leaving me stranded. That's what you get for paying off your car loan **UPDATE** It was the fan belt and our local mechanic fixed it and it's back home where it should be. Now Jerry and I don't have to run around tomorrow getting me to school. We have our bag of "Bats & Rats Gummy" candies to give out tonight. MuW aHaHA haha haha

Pros: Can do it on my own time. Don't have to sit in a classroom. Don't have to listen to a teacher read to me. Cons: Have to make time. No immediate feedback on questions. Not very interesting discussions because no one is invested. Have to rely on the teacher to be on top of things. Sometimes the Black Board is on the fritz. (I love technology) I'm sure there are more to both sides. I guess today I'm venting because I got my work posted and turned in on time even though the servers were down for most of Sunday and yet I'm having to wait for my teacher to post this weeks assignments. I know...I should be cheering but it doesn't mean she'll give us more time for the assignments. We are still expected to have them done by the end of the week. I used to think I was a patient person but this class is showing me that I still need to work on that. GAH!

100_0674 Originally uploaded by gknee . Jerry told me a few days ago that he has never carved a pumpkin for halloween. I couldn't let this go on another year so this afternoon we hit the local pumpkin patch and picked out a couple of pumpkins. We had lofty ideas of doing a stenciled pumpkin on one but found that the pumpkin was just too big, and thick to do that intricate of carving. So we stuck with some free hand Jack O'Lantern faces. We had a blast! It felt good to bring a piece of my childhood to Jerry. Maybe next year we'll get all fancy with our rotund squash.

Jerry and I went to the Zoo today. The weather was perfect. You can take a look at the all the pictures on flickr . I think the best time Jerry had was feeding the birds. I know he couldn't stop smiling. I couldn't either because the birds were squawking in his ear and trying to steal his hat. The worst part of the day was watching people drop their goldfish crackers into the Koi pond. There are signs everywhere not to feed the animals because their diets are specific and maintained by the zoo keepers. They gave you plenty of opportunities to feed the animals. Next time we are going to feed the giraffes. Line was too long today. We've already decided to make another trip there soon to attend all the zoo keeper talks . We kept missing the times because we wanted to see all the animals.

After seven years in this house we finally got a dining room table. It's nice and will comfortably fit the eight people at the table on Thanksgiving. My parents and Jerry's parents both will be joining us for a feast. Jerry took some time off this week. He had to burn it so he didn't lose it. I thought we could go out of town but due to circumstances out of either one of our control we are tied to the area. We did do some shopping today. Got some pretty placemats for the table. A network thingy so that we could add our HD-DVD player to the network. Web-enabled DVD's for the win! Jerry mentioned the Zoo this weekend, the weather looks like it might cooperate. We'll see!

From time to time my family comes up with some great things on the web. Thanks to my Mom and Dad to passing it on to me from my brother Joe. They orginally sent me an "I Will Survive" vid which is truely some funny stuff. But I really though this one was clever and wonderful. A treat for any true music lover! My family rocks!

In tarot, card no. 11 is "Justice". Apollo 11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the Moon. 11 is the atomic number of sodium. The number 11 bus is a low-cost way of sightseeing in London. An eleven -sided polygon is called a hendecagon or undecagon. The 11 th moon of Jupiter is Himalia. In cricket, 11 is the number of players from the fielding (or bowling) side on the field of play at any one time. The number eleven is important in numerology, as it is the first of the Master Numbers. The number of years I have been married to Jerry !

I'm getting to that point in my semester of classes where I start to stress out about things. I know I shouldn't and I guess I'm writing about it so that I can get a grip on how silly it is to stress about things. I can see my hubby's eyes rolling as he reads this. I know it's not healthy but I'm human. I guess knowing that I'm freaking out is the first step into stopping the freaking out. Right?!? Sure...So here I am...not freaking out about things that are so far away it's just silly to freak out about. Maybe I should freak out about how my English grammar has freaked out

Throne_for_the_Flood_King Originally uploaded by gknee . Nor'easters struck the first coast again last night. Our neighbors, or the people who are ransacking the house next door, put this on the curb earlier in the day. Driving at this point wasn't too bad as it only went up to the bumper on the Aztek. I'm glad I didn't get out of class any later. An hour after I got home the "Throne" was toppled and the water was over the sidewalk and creeping up our little retaining wall. It's not raining and I'm actually not sure what the forecast is. Strange for anyone that knows me because I have secretly always wanted to be a meterologist and drool at the "Severe Weather" warnings. (although Hurricane Floyd a couple years ago did kinda freak me out). Ok..RAMBLING......

OK...their last name isn't Jones but its the idea. My dad has been having problems with this DVD burner drive in his computer. We were going to cannibalize one of our machines but as he got thinking about it, along with me, that after shipping from Jax to Lansing, MI that it would be best to just go out and purchase one. So not only did he get a new DVD burner drive but the man got a lightscribe ! I don't have a lightscribe drive...I'm jealous It's nice to see my 70+ year old parents being hip. Gives me hope that I inherited that trait and will always be able to roll with the latest trends.

"You are right where you need to be." is what my professor said after watching one of my video taped interpreting sessions. Yay me! Sure there were things I can work on but I was happy to hear that for the most part my concepts and message were true to the speakers intent. If nothing else that is my biggest fear is that I won't match the intent of the speaker so this was nice to hear. I'll keep working on that so it's not something I lose. The semester is going good. I feel like I'm getting a lot out of most of my classes. I say most because I have an online class on Educational Interpreting and it's just not one of my favorites. Sure there are parts of it that are interesting but for the most part its a lot of busy work that I hate. If you want to see if I read the chapter test me on it, don't make me show you all the authors that were cited. Busy work..GAH! I'm finding that the more I improve the more things I have to work on. Crazy ...

So even though I'm feeling icky with my cold that is causing me terrible ear aches, dizziness to the point I can't sleep and a sore throat, I thought I would try to feel better by doing something good. So I remembered that Lean Cuisine was selling these cute lunch totes for Breast Cancer. So I picked this cute little diamond patterned baby and $5.00 of my $9.95 purchase will be going to the Komen for the Cure. So head on over and get one for yourself, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, or your mom. Not only will they be stylin' but you'll be helping a wonderful cause!

In an effort to get ahead of the school game I'm going to be very busy this week. Just want to get things out of the way so I can coast a little at the end. For example we need three interviews by December and I have two done and doing my third wednesday evening. Go me!

I really miss my friends from Central. You know who you are...Look Pagan Pride Day!

Head over to International Talk like a Pirate Day for more fun! My pirate name is: Mad Jenny Kidd Every pirate is a little bit crazy. You, though, are more than just a little bit. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr! Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com. part of the fidius.org network

College Street Originally uploaded by gknee . No...College Street right in Jacksonville. I know the picture is a little blurry I was dodging raindrops between pictures. It's stopped raining and the water should go down quickly. Hopefully Jerry will be able to get home.

I have been spoiled on what fall semester should be like. Sure I've lived here in Jacksonville for 12 years now but as I trudge to classes I keep thinking that the air should be crisp, the trees should be changing colors and sweatshirts are a must. I will admit that I have been a little homesick lately. I have been thinking about Boyne City and how nice and quiet it was there. Going to the lake regularly just to stare at the water. AND my family was close. Don't get me wrong..my parents can drive me bonkers just like everyone does I guess I would just like them to bug me in person for a bit. Maybe I should take a trip out to the beach and fly my kite...I wonder where my kite is...

I miss you so Seems like it's been forever So why are my blogs so few and far between lately? Honestly, I have no clue. I guess I don't really have much to say about anything. I'm working my little 20 hour job at the relay center. Going to school with my little 4 classes and that's about it. I'm already thinking about Christmas break. Although that scares me a little because that means I only have one semester left... Yes folks...I'm supposed to be able to test for some kind of creditials in 8 months. YIKES! My professor today put a quote on the board that I am really trying to embrace. "Perfectionism is the highest form of self abuse" So I guess I need to just keep reminding myself that this is truely an art form and that work product is just that....work product. Sure it could be scary if I were interpreting for someone who was going in for some medical procedure and I screw up the interpretation. Sure..yeah...but I'm no where near that and I wil...

Stormy weather! I love this kind of weather, but it makes me just want to veg out and watch TV. I did manage to do some laundry though. The only thing bad about this weather is that we live in the Historical part of the city. This means that our power goes out a lot. Even when it's sunny and beautiful...so I'll just hope that part of this stormy weather doesn't come true. School news: Going to be a good semester. I'm taking Transiliteration, Voicing, Special Issues in Educational Interpreting and Interpreting Practicum. The best news is that most of my classes are "in class room work" so not many outside projects. Life news: Not much really going on. Work, school...that's about it. Oh..well.. Jaguar Football. But we didnt' go to the game last night. We gave our tickets to Jerry's sister who is in town for the Labor Day weekend.

Amazing what a difference a day can make. Found out that I don't have to change my Program at school so that means I won't have to take that math class. They retracted an error on the company newsletter so that means the question on the test that they make you take to see if you are reading the newsletter was thrown out. Things are looking up here in Jax.

As in Bad Luck Schleprock... There are times when I'm almost convinced that I am Bad Luck Schelprock. Thankfully today's Schleprock storm was just a little one. Nothing that can't be fixed or forgotten. Schleprock moments today: Work drama with a mandatory reading of the company news letter. Book store - why don't they ever order enough books? Course program - "Not Found" What does that mean? Possibly math Mortage company - "what do you mean you don't have my payment...the bank shows you do!"