Guess What?

Yep, I was in the audience of yet another Triathlon. This is The Big One, the Med Express Triathlon in Morgantown, WV. Hubby was so excited. They're going to swim, bike and run.

Line-up of  some of the Triathletes, they're getting ready to swim over a mile in the Monongahela River (blech)

Hubby's in the red

Hubby's group is lined up to jump in the river. 

Good luck hubby!

summer lovin'

So, I have been enjoying my time off. I'm out on my front porch enjoying the breeze blowing through my hair. I know we live off the beaten path, but every time I step out on our porch (it's like a huge covered extension of our house), I feel like I'm on vacation, in a cabin, in the woods. Maybe not my ideal vacation, I prefer the beach, but it's relaxing enough.

(our house, looking up from our lower lot)

After almost 5 years in our house, I still crack up when the farmers down the road feed their cows. A whole chorus of mooing begins. It sounds like they're singing to me! (kidding). Luckily, they're close enough to hear, but too far to smell. Previously we lived where they were close enough to smell, and I said "never again".

(lower lot, still untamed)

We own a few acres; everyone around us also owns at least 2 acres. We all like our privacy. The latest house however is being built close to our house. The owners purchased 26 acres and they have to build right by our house? So they tried 3 other spots and found a coal seam-to unstable to build there. I lack sympathy, they have 26 acres to find another spot. I don't think they were trying hard enough. At least their house isn't facing ours, pheww..

(our current closest neighbors, not the new ones)

And so, with all that land, I'm still trying to tame the yard. It had been strip mined (hence the coal) eons ago. Hubby bought a new riding lawn mower this spring. I love it. I mow the entire yard (the level part) once a week. It takes a couple hours. But if it's nice out, I enjoy it. I've aerated also. Now I need to attack weeds. Hubby needs to attack the sloped area. It's overgrown with wild blackberries and black locust trees. If you have ever thought of purchasing black locust trees...well, hopefully you haven't thought of purchasing black locust trees. They have thorns. They have long brown seedpods. They are extremely prolific. And they have EXTREMELY hard wood. So what I'm saying is, they're ugly and tough to get rid of, like a weed, only bigger.

(More untamed land, weeds plus locust trees)

(Why is there a fork in my yard? That's not even from my set.)

(Tamed yard)

(Awww, a wittle baby wocust twee, isn't he sooo sweet? Wook at his wittle thorns. Ugly little invader.)

(More tamed and untamed yard. We're getting there.)

(Driveway, plus view. the lower lot is beyond all the locust trees.)

So all of my great plans for a new flower bed have gone by the wayside, at least for the time being. The lovely spot I trenched out this past spring is growing: weeds. Sigh. Yards and gardens are a living canvas, right? 

Answers to Flickr Meme

The answers to my flickr meme. This was fun to create and not that difficult. 

1. First name- Carol
2. Favorite Drink- hot chocolate
3. town I grew up in- Glassport, PA (love that pic, think it's hilarious, that's actually a woman in the truck)

4. Dream Vacation- Sanibel Island, FL (actually, where I'd like to retire)
5. What do I love most in life?- Love
6. Favorite food- Pizza
7. One word to describe me- colorful
8. Favorite scent- rose
9. What do I want to be when I'm grown up?- artist
10. Favorite color- amythest
11. Flickr name, annroskos (couldn't find that, so found something close)
12. Favorite dessert- Berry pie


Credits for the mosaic pictures: (if you click on the links it takes you to the pictures and comments. some of them are pretty funny, like the one with the truck...also some clues)
1. Harbour caroling, 2. koko black hot chocolate, 3. Untitled, 4. Down by the seashore, where life is a little easier, 5. Best things in life are free, 6. Posina fora a pizza box!, 7. Colour my community..., 8. a rose from rose.., 9. Eden Park Artist, 10. Amythest starling, 11. Rosko Porsche, 12. Very Berry

Flickr Meme

Okay, I've gotta do the cool flickr meme thing. I saw a few but totally didn't get that the questions and the pictures were supposed to relate to each other until I saw sophanne's. 

I also thought it would be fun if you could guess which picture goes with which question. (They're out of order). I changed some of the questions, cause that's the kind of rule breaker that I am!

1. First name
2. Favorite Food
3. town I grew up in
4. Favorite color
5. favorite scent
6. Favorite drink
7. Dream vacation
8. Favorite dessert
9. What do I want to be when I'm grown up?
10. What do I love most in Life
11. one word to describe me
12. Flickr name


Credits for the mosaic pictures: (if you click on the links it takes you to the pictures and comments. some of them are pretty funny, like the one with the truck...also some clues)
1. Harbour caroling, 2. koko black hot chocolate, 3. Untitled, 4. Down by the seashore, where life is a little easier, 5. Best things in life are free, 6. Posina fora a pizza box!, 7. Colour my community..., 8. a rose from rose.., 9. Eden Park Artist, 10. Amythest starling, 11. Rosko Porsche, 12. Very Berry

So what you do to create your own is go to flickr and type in your answer to each question into Flickr Search and then choose a photo on the first page. Then use fd's mosaic maker to paste in the URL for each picture.

working mom

when I'm at work I'm Mrs Lydee. When I'm at home, I'm Mom. Rarely the two shall meet. Except in the summer. When I'm at a summer camp. That I volunteered for. Without childcare. Cause the girls' preschool director said (insert russian accent), "You are kick-ed from building!" (Curious George, the Movie, anyone?)

Ok, so her summer program is full. and why would she want two little ones taking up places for 3 weeks, when she could have full paying students for the entire summer. Yeah, I understand. Really. When my children have graduated your preschool, I am going to ROAST YOU Woman.

Okay, and back to teaching..with my kids...so i can say, all in one breath, "Circle to the left....circle to the right, Bib!i GET OFF your sister!" (girls are wrestling on floor). Really though, the girls were good, all things considered. Emmy (5 yrs old) after watching me teach a dance, drew this:



what a sweetheart! all of your sins are forgiven, my child.....even the time you decided to paint with red paint on my new beige carpeting....

party, what party?

I attended my first work related retirement party last night. Not for me (!), for our PP. It was at a sports bar (leave it to a p.e. teacher to organize :-). Apparently there is "Sports Bar I" and "Sports Bar II". They're relatively close together, a small walk, and different enterances, seperates one from the other. The party was at "Sports Bar II". I unknowingly went to "Sports Bar I", sided up to the bar and asked where the party was. (Good thing nobody at the bar said something stupid like, it's at my house baby. I woulda had to slug him.)

Hey! It's not even in the same bldg! Flustered I half-listened to the bartender's directions, scurried out of there and got lost, again. I stopped in a Nails Salon and asked for directions (at least I ask!). The women look at me like I'm crazy, but someone steered me in the right direction. I finally arrive, keeping the secrets of my embarrassing fiasco to myself.

Woo Hoo, the p.e. and art teacher saved me a seat. Anyhoo, I had a nice time. I drank one cocktail, lots of water and kept my mouth shut.

Some highlights that cracked me up, pp's speech:

He thanked the social committee for choosing a classy place that reflected his taste. (sarcasm)

He loves his email and he said he got his first taste of what our school would be like when one teacher told him her door was 15 feet from his office, and if he had anything important to say, he could yell it down the hall, she wasn't going to check her !#@$% email.

He thanked another teacher saying he could always count on him to stir up something at school.

Apparently I'm "an easy pickup", which was not what he meant, but how it came out (I think he meant I picked up how to teach quickly when I did my student teaching.).

Another teacher stood up and said she always "liked being under him."

And when he came to a teacher he didn't get along with, he said (names changed), "Lisa....what can I say about Lisa?... Lisa is Lisa....She anchors her end of the hall."

Anyhoo, the end of an era. In pp's defense, he was supportive of the arts, not a trait that many pp's share, and that made my job easier. But there were difficult times as well, just like with anybody.

All's well that end's well.

lovely day, beautiful weekend.

Hey you all, I haven't forgotten you. It's a crazy time of the year right now. I will post more when I can sit down and concentrate on my thoughts for longer than a few minutes. Thank goodness the school year is winding down, just a few more inservice days. I still have a few meetings and things to do; however towards the end of the month I should be FREE! Completely free!

It cracked me up when, on the last day of school for the kids, the teachers were hugging eachother. I wasn't sure how to receive these hugs. It was like that happy loving feeling one gets at the end of a concert, I'll hug perfect strangers then. And relief, how do I spell relief...

We have gorgeous weather and a small pool (x-tra large kiddie pool, I'm in it when I kick the kids out the girls aren't) and a lovely porch, so my time is spent outside. I am lovin' this!