Moving on up...

It's official, I've made the permanent switch to the typepad address. I'll likely add a password fairly soon. Change those bookmarks and google readers, friends!

Trying something new...

In case you've been wondering where I've been, I'm trying out a new blog host site. You can check it out at www.courtandstewart.typepad.com if you've been missing me. I'll let you know soon if I'm going to make the switch permanent.

Things I like right now

Mamma Mia

This movie is so much fun! The soundtrack is currently on repeat in my car. I think it's humanly impossible to be in a bad mood when "Dancing Queen" or " Take A Chance On Me" is playing.

Preppy Notecards

I keep telling myself that I'm not allowed to buy more stationery, but these were $3.99 at Target, so I made an exception. They remind me of Boatman Gellar Stationery, but with a nicer price.

Chris Brown

The only songs I know are "Forever" and "No Air", but I get excited every time either one comes on the radio.

(image from chrisbrownworld.com)

The Olympics

I LOVE the Olympics! When I was younger I would make and print out schedules of the events I wanted to watch (typically gymnastics & swimming in the summer and skating in the winter). The Opening Ceremonies were unreal....make sure you check out these amazing pictures.

Orange and Blue

Besides the obvious Gator orange and blue, I have been noticing a more subdued combination lately and liking it. There's some technical reason that these colors go well together (something about being on opposite sides of the color wheel), but I just think they look fresh and happy. I especially like them with a little bit of green thrown in, like the colors of the pencils from See Jane Work, below.

I think I'm going to try to use these colors as inspiration when I decorate my new office at school. I found these great votives at a thrift store for $2.99, and I think they're a nice start without taking up much space.

I'm famous!

The last two days I've been attending new employee orientation for my school district. A lot of it hasn't applied to me since I'm not a teacher. I certainly wished I had brought a magazine while they spent 3 hours going over the electronic gradebook....thankfully I don't have to give grades. This morning they were taking some pictures while we were completing some paperwork. In the next session less than an hour later, they pulled up the county website on the projector, and there I was! I have an hard time keeping a straight face when I know someone's taking my picture. Obviously the girl next to me does not have the same problem... (image from Wakulla District webpage)

A week of rest??

Last week I ventured down to West Palm to visit my mom, with my suitcase loaded up with books, continuing education articles, and paperwork to organize. Since I knew mom would have to spend some time at work, I thought I would need some things to keep me occupied. Well, let's just say that most of them stayed in the suitcase! It turned out to be a busy, fun week. On the way down south, Mom met me at my uncle's house in Deland to help me go through some of my grandparents' things. It was really nice to spend some time with my Uncle Frank and his fiancee Lori. She is really sweet, easy to talk to, and makes my uncle very happy. Mom and I give her our stamp of approval! We took a couple pictures but they're all on mom's camera, so instead here's a sweet picture of me and my Uncle Fwank.

This is slightly off the subject, but I can't write about Uncle Frank and not mention his gator car. This man is quite possibly the biggest UF fan that ever lived, and he's not shy about it. He debuted his Gator Mini Cooper during last football season, and it was such a big hit that he was asked to drive it in the homecoming parade! Here are a couple pictures of his sweet car! (FYI, he played trombone in the marching band, thus the "Gator Bones" references.)

Pretty sweet, isn't it? Anyway, back to my week at home...

Highlights:

• Attending a Zumba class with Uncle Frank! That was worth the trip in itself! Zumba is like aerobics/latin dancing, so it's all about the hips. Uncle Frank was the only male in the room (Lori teaches the class), but he stood front and center! It was a riot.
• Lunch with Stewart's grandparents, Grandmama and Papa, who also live in Deland.
• Hanging out with Mom and Robin on Mom's newly redecorated back porch.
• Kohr Bros frozen custard (with rainbow sprinkles) at the Sawgrass Mills mall. The only other place we get to eat Kohr Bros is on the boardwalk in Ocean City, NJ. It was definitely worth the drive and the journey through the crazy mall.
• Completing all three of my 25 minute runs (we're now up to 28 minutes)
• Line dancing with the girls at Renegades. We determined that the first time we went there was 13 years ago, when it was Country Nites. We had a great time, even though they didn't play our favorite dance song. We were also surprised to find that Renegades is now located in a Lowe's parking lot instead of a secluded area behind a seedy video store (ah, the continuing urban development of South Florida...)

Erica, Robin, and me

Robin's cute haircut

Me, Erica, and Logan

I guess we stayed too long...

More highlights:

• Finally seeing the Sex And The City movie. Overall I liked it, although I wasn't a huge fan of Jennifer Hudson
• Lovely afternoon with Mom and her best friend Kathy, who spoiled us with lunch and wouldn't even let us help clean the dishes
• Bowling with Erica and her kiddies, Aubrey and Danny (and Robin, who was admittedly more excited about the deer shooting arcade game than the bowling.) The kids are getting so big, and I wish I got to see them more often!

Downfalls:

• I spent way too much money on clothes.
• I gained back 3 of the 5 lbs that I had lost :-(
• The South Florida summer afternoon thunderstorms seemed to have turned into mid-morning thunderstorms that hang around the rest of the day
• The continuing education and paperwork organization has yet to be done!

Overall I had a great time, and it was wonderful to be there for a whole week. Now I have about a week to accomplish everything that I wanted to do this summer, including Project Clean-Out-The-Apartment. If we end up moving to Jacksonville for Stewart's rotations we want to save some money by getting a one-bedroom apartment, so one of my big objectives for the summer is to get rid of the stuff we don't want/need. I've already taken two loads to the consignment shop and one to Goodwill. In the plans for the next couple weeks are a short trip to Atlanta for a Braves game, and then a long weekend in Destin to celebrate my mom's birthday. I start orientation at my new job the beginning of August. Where has the summer gone?

Viewing Slideshows

The slideshows I posted recently have to be pretty small to fit in the blog. If you want to view the slideshows larger, just click on one of the images as the slideshow is playing.

"Don't Stop Me Now" Workout Playlist

Thanks Missy and Rica for the suggestions. Here's my new workout playlist:


Heartbreaker- Matt Wertz
Burn Out Bright- Switchfoot
Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting- Elton John
Fever- Aerosmith
Stronger- Kanye West
Chase This Light- Jimmy Eat World
Don't Stop Me Now- Queen
Party Like a Rock Star- Shop Boyz
Let's Go- Trick Daddy
Mr. Brightside- The Killers
Desire- U2
Any Way You Want It- Journey
Roll With the Changes- REO Speedwagon
Made to Love- TobyMac