and we're proud to say that they're just beautiful!
yellow cake mix, chocolate icing, chocolate sprinkles,
candy corn, and some pasty bags did the trick!
Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
and this is Jackie's reaction to the cake...we had a lot of fun!
so, i've NEVER, in my entire life, been a fan or patron of the Ohio State Buckeyes. i grew up in a small town, Jeannette, Pennsylvania, until i was 4, where we had a buckeye tree growing in our yard. my only real influence of buckeyes was with that tree, collecting them in a small plastic swimming pool and playing with them. they weren't edible nuts (though a relative of the chestnut) but they were kind of fun to play with because they were hard, made a cool noise when knocked together, and were especially fun to run your hands through if you had a huge pile of them. but i digress...I am a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University.
PSU and OSU are both in the Big Ten.
OSU usually beats PSU in the season. They didn't this year.
I am from Pennsylvania and have some family and friends from Ohio...forming a natural rivalry.
A lot of Ohio State fans I know, have always been a little negative toward my boyfriend, JoePa.
However, with all of this against me ever doing anything positive in the light of the Buckeyes, i've turned over a new leaf. i present to you:
YES! You are seeing what your eyes are telling you. I did bake a cake and make it into an Ohio State "O." if it weren't for the cold, hard fact that a friend from Bunko, Carrie, was a HUGE Ohio State fan, this never would've happened. however, carrie, who has been a part of this group since it started (3+ years), is moving to Ohio in January and we're all very sad to see her go. last night, at her last bunko, we gave her a little sayonara with a "Virginia-themed" gift and an Ohio State cake. Carrie, we will miss you...and you've seen another side of me that may NEVER happen again...but should be cherished in all of it's Ohio State glory.
interestingly enough, ears were the topic of a short conversation at bunko last night...in a rather amusing context, jodi asked everyone sitting at our table if their ears were soft or hard at the tops. we all immediately took our ears and attempted to bend them because jodi continued by telling us that her boyfriend made fun of her ears because they were rather rigid and his were more of the floppy type.
VMFA ART ON THE SPOT STATEWIDE
Art on the Spot programs are free SOL based programs for elementary classrooms. Since 2004 these programs have served over 30,000 students in the metro Richmond area. Thanks to a generous gift from The Council of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, VMFA is excited to offer Art on the Spot classroom visits to students across the Virginia November 2008 through June 2009.
Let VMFA educators come to your school with VMFA Art on the Spot. These 60 minute multi-sensory and SOL-related art experiences, include art history lessons, hands-on activities, and video clips. This year's Art on the Spot lessons are recommended for grades 1, 3, and 4.
City/Country Grade 1Take an imaginary trip through the country and the city to explore how lifestyles change from the past to the present. Learn about American artists, George Henry Durrie and Faith Ringgold, and use real fabric to make your own story quilt about your family.
Get Earthy! Greece and Rome Grade 3Be an archaeologist! Discover the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome. Explore the Olympics, pottery, and a mysterious artifact.
The Voice of Freedom Grade 4 Investigate art that illustrates Americans efforts to gain independence, end slavery, and give women the right to vote. Become the voice of these paintings and help describe what freedom meant to the artists and their subjects.
Scheduling Please schedule your FREE educational visit at least three weeks in advance by phoning Jennifer Foley, Paul Mellon Collection Educator, at 804.204.2673, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm.
Please have the following information ready when you call:
Art on the Spot program topic
Number of students - Maximum of 32 students per group
Date(s) and time(s)
Alternate date(s) and time(s)
School name, address, and phone number
Name of contact person or teacher and their home/cell phone and e-mail
Yup, that's really what my Sunday was like. I didn't go to church, I barely cleaned up laundry or made meals...but it felt so good! And now I'm rested and ready to go to Richmond tonight and learn all about my new job as a VMFA Art on the Spot Educator!
it's not that i try to be in a crummy mood when a few days of serious rain and clouds come along...but sometimes even when i try my hardest, rainy days always get me down.
it doesn't help that i'm low on money, still feeling the effects of taking a few months off from teaching and only starting a new part-time job 4 weeks ago and about to start another job next week...but finances can really get ya down, too.
it probably has to do with having a really fabulous weekend last weekend and knowing that i have a not-so-fabulous weekend coming up...
it might have to do with the fact that the front right wheel on my car was bent in 3 places when they looked at it at the garage...that i had to rotate my newer front tires to the back and then get rid of the rear tires (they were REALLY bad) and get new ones...which thankfully, only ended up meaning i had to buy one tire because my full-size, never-been-used Michelin spare was more than adequate and meant that i only had to buy one more Michelin to put on the front (to the tune of $129.00)...
it might have to do with the fact that i've wanted to get 2 people gifts in the past 3 months and i can't afford it.
it might have to do with the fact that it's embarrassing to even talk about...
whatever the reason for my glum mood, karen carpenter says it all when she sings Rainy Days and Mondays in the video above.
so you begin the healing process by writing, curling up with a good book, or grabbing a Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar and eating the entire thing yourself.
When Kelly Perdieu told me about the OBX Half-Marathon back in September...she mentioned that she really wanted to go and that she probably would be staying with some friends who have done it every year. Since I didn't want to impose and I didn't really have the money, I didn't really pursue the idea of running it. After I started working for Riverside Runners in mid-October, I once again had the idea pop into my head when a fellow runner, Tommy Harris, mentioned that he was going to the OBX to run the full marathon and he was looking for someone to be his driver (aka: take him to the start, 26 miles away from his house). I thought it would be so much fun, so I asked Gregg if he'd be interested in going (being our driver) and told him we'd have a place to stay. I was running in the mornings with Kelly (semi-training, but not really running that much), so I decided to step it up in preparation for the race. I confirmed with Tommy that we'd be coming along, that we'd stay with him at his house, and that Jeff had approved me to be gone that weekend from work. I started running more, ran a PR in the I Am Woman 5k, at 25:36. In no way did I think the OBX Half was going to be some GREAT race for me, but I knew it would be fun. Tommy, Gregg, and I left on Nov. 7th, a Friday afternoon, stopped for spaghetti in Chesapeake on the way down, and then settled in. Saturday, we went to the Race EXPO, picked up our packets, bought fun Gizmo socks, and drove the courses. Saturday night, we talked about our goals for the race...mine being that I beat my previous half-marathon time of 2:08:53 by 4-5 minutes (goal: 2:04:00). Tommy and Gregg both agreed that they thought I could break 2 hours, but I wasn't too sure, knew that I was feeling ultra-nervous, and was a bit sore in my right Achilles.the morning of the race, after visiting the bathroom and porta-john plenty of times, i took off. tommy had prepared my feet with moleskin, vaseline, and his favorite treatment, Bigeloil, and i felt really good. Gregg missed the start of the half because he was dropping Tommy off for the marathon start, so i took off and hoped to see Gregg somewhere along the course. if it weren't for him popping up every few miles, i probably wouldn't have done as well...gregg would come out of nowhere, cheer for me, take some pictures and then move on ahead and meet me again. i felt so good the first half of the race...running around 57 minutes for the first 6.9 miles. the 2nd half, a 10K, was a similar time, around 59 minutes, which put me at 1:56:57 for my finish. i knew that i slowed down a bit in the 2nd half, but i wasn't sure by how much, and i wasn't pushing super hard until the last 5K and then really the last mile. when i saw the finish line and saw that i was under 2 hours, i started to cry! i was so happy, so proud, so excited that i had beat my own goal and fulfilled what both Tommy & Gregg had said in the beginning. running this race was like a new step for me...breaking records...running a better pace than ever in a long distance race...and just feeling so good about myself. :) i'm sure there's more running records to come!
last year at this time, gregg and i had only met a few times:mid-September 2007: ended up at the E.C. Glass parking lot at the same time after running on the 10-miler course on a Thursday night...in preparation for the 10-miler...he introduced himself and asked if i wanted to meet him and some others at the Corner Cafe for a drink (me: "what's the corner cafe, and who is this old guy i'm talking to?")
