I Got an A!

Ok, so I am a little excited. I did my first paper in over 15 years this weekend. I wrote it very sporadically on Saturday. I felt like I had a hard time concentrating and organizing my thoughts. The paper only had to be 3-5 pages, but it took me about 7 hours to write!! (ok, so I kept taking 20 minute breaks b/c I could not concentrate!). I wrote it and then only read it once and sent it off. My saving grace, I thought, was that if we don't like our grade, we can revise it and turn it in again. Well, this morning I got an email from the professor.... I got an A!!! The only thing that was wrong was some of the formatting. It needs to be in APA format. I have a program to help me do this, but still didn't follow it perfectly. My 4.0 is still in reach!! :)

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

San Francisco is beautiful! The city has so much character and charm. From streets lined with old victorian houses, to the modern city buildings, from the bay to the ocean, beauty is all around! I took MANY photos. Unfortunatley, as you will see, both days that I was there were foggy in places. All of my Golden Gate Bridge photos have fog in them. Here are a few of the best photos.

The Golden Gate Bridge


My "Artsy" Bridge Shot


Flowers in Golden Gate Park




Lombard Street


A City View From Coit Tower


A Redwood Forest Park




Alcatraz


Sea Lions Hanging at the Pier

From Tease to Reality

On Sunday I flew to San Francisco for work. Ok, a little work and a little personal time with my favorite Uncle. (Side note-both of my uncles are cool, just this one was the favorite b/c he was who I was going to see!) Anyway..... Since I travel for work almost every week I have racked up the frequent flyer points and status. I have Gold status with USAir. Since I have gold status, I get upgraded to first class when ever available. On Sunday, the first class cabin was sold out, so I was resigned to a 6 hour flight cramped in a three person row of seats. After it seemed like everyone was on board, the gate agent came to my seat and asked me if I wanted to sit in first class. Of course, I said yes. I gather the stuff out of the seat pocket in front of me, got my purse off the floor, made the two guys sitting next to me move, got my bag down from over head and took one step toward first class. That's when the agent came back and said, "I am sorry, it isn't available." ARE YOU KIDDING!!! WHAT A TEASE!!!
Thursday was a whole different ball game!! I had been checking the availability of first class seats all week. Tuesday there were 7 available. Wednesday there were none! I was bummed, but again resigned to my coach seat. Much to my surprise and delight, when I checked in for the flight I discovered that I had ALREADY BEEN UPGRADED!! That's right.... first class on the way home!! Cozy, comfy, free food and beverages, blankets..... I could get used to this! Membership has its privileges!

Back to School!

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day! I am going back to school. I am soooo excited and just a tad bit nervous~ OK, A LOT NERVOUS! I was not a particularly studious student the first time around. It wasn't that I was a partier, I just did not "apply myself" as my mom would say. I was too busy with friends, activities and work. The temptation to sleep in was very hard to resist as well..... sleep is my favorite activity! All of this was when school was my only job (well, kinda, if you count being an RA a job!). NOW not only do I have a full time job, but it requires traveling A LOT! Some how I need to pull some discipline out and "apply myself!" Seriously, though, I am sure that I will do fine.....can you say looking for a 4.0??? I have a lot to live up to, as my mom worked full time, raised two kids on her own AND got a 4.0!! I have friends in my class that I work with, so that will be encouraging as well... I am so excited to start that I had my bag backed with my books three days ago! :) WCU here I come!

GO RAMS!!!!

Elvis Duckley!

Meet my new man..... isn't he dreamy! He is so considerate and sweet. He even swam all the way to Chicago and surprised me in my hotel! :)

We Are The Champions!

Last Sunday my softball team won the Championship! We played during the thunder and lightening, watching lightening all around us, but it never getting close enough to stop the game. We finished the season 14-2!!! This was our third year playing and our second championship. We won the first year out, but honestly, only by shear luck! We had a losing season the first year, but all is fair in the playoffs and we won when it counted! This year, however, we had the best record out of any team in all three divisions. It was a fantastic season, capped off by a CHAMPIONSHIP! For this, we get rewared by moving up to the "A" division next year.......GO TITANS!!

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!

Today I finally took a day off from work to enjoy a day at the Philadelphia Zoo with my two best friends, Jessica & Lynn, and their kids. Lynn is a memebr of the zoo and got us all (all 7 of us) in for free-you ROCK Lynn! We had a great time seeing the animals, getting some exercise by walking all over the zoo, watching the kids enjoy the zoo and seeing the Philly skyline 400 feet up in the air in the Zoo Balloon!

The Kids at the entrance to the Zoo


The required fountain photo
(a security man on one of those things you stand on and ride chased the kids from the fountain ledge..... who knew after all these years that you are not allowd to sit on the ledge??)


The Tortises
(at least this time they were "G" rated-last time I was at the zoo, it was definately "R" rated, maybe even "X"...... 'nough said)


Luke Duke.... the cutest!!


Kaitlyn & Kristopher


Don't mess with me!


Elephant Love!


The Zoo Balloon


Philly Skyline from the Zoo Balloon


The End of the Day!