Saturday, February 28, 2009

day 59


Took my camera on our dog walk today and captured these flowers growing out of the iceplant in a neighbor's yard.

Friday, February 27, 2009

day 58


Robyn's husband took the kids to his brother's house for the weekend so Jody and I took her out for some wine tasting at Wine Styles and dinner at Cheesecake Factory. It's been a while since the three of us had a girl's night out together so it was a lot of fun to goof around and catch up. There are always lots of laughs when we are together. I love you guys!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

day 57


I take so many great shots of my students but can't use them here without asking their parents for permission. It's been so frustrating! Today I finally got smart and took some photos that didn't show their faces. Here, one of my girls is drawing a Dr. Seuss-style background for an art project we're working on in celebration of his upcoming birthday and Read Across America Day.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

day 56


I have been wanting a 50mm lens for a long time now so I finally broke down and got one. I haven't played with it too much yet but I'm looking forward to having some quality time with it soon.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

day 55

Remember that little sprout I discovered a while back? It's all grows'd up now! It was so incredible to witness it's transformation over the past two weeks. Some days it felt like I could actually see it growing!

Monday, February 23, 2009

day 54


We have a small garden at our school. Today, after recess, a group of first graders walked by me with their arms full of vegetables, freshly pulled from the garden. They had huge smiles on their faces so I stopped them and snapped a few shots.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

day 53


Jody and I had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants today, Tartine in Coronado. After lunch we walked across the street and I shot these photos of downtown.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

day 52


One of the basketball coaches in our league worked out a deal with USD, allowing us to bring our players out to watch one of their games for free. We went today and saw the women's team play against St. Mary's. We sat right near the floor, at about center court. The game was really exciting and we had a lot of fun. The girls were so wide-eyed throughout the game. I hope that one day, one of them will continue on to play college ball...

Friday, February 20, 2009

day 51

Thursday, February 19, 2009

day 50


One of the best things about my job is that I get to create art with my students. I love when I have the opportunity to sit down and color with those little guys! There is no better symbol of childhood, in my opinion, than a box of crayons.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

day 49


Tonight I was the official photographer for Off the Vine. My fabulous friend Carlisa serves on the Board and asked if I would be so kind as to donate my services to their organization. This was their first official event and it was a huge success! I must admit, I felt a bit lame at the start of it but as the night wore on, I started to really have fun. You can see the rest of the photos here.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

day 48


There are weeds all over the place at my house. In an effort to become more earth-friendly, I have decided to embrace the weeds and make them the subject of my photography.

Monday, February 16, 2009

day 47


It's raining, it's pouring...
Charlie does not appreciate getting wet and just HATES the rain. I am sure that he needs to go to the bathroom but when I open the door and he sees this... no way! Hershey is a different animal all together. She ran right out and took her sweet time.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

day 46


What did I discover in my mailbox today? A Valentine from my momma! I've been a bit under the weather so I didn't make it out there yesterday... too bad because it arrived right on time! In the box was a silly card, some dark chocolates (my favorite!) along with some earrings and this pin, which match some bracelets Mom gave me for Christmas. What a wonderful surprise! Thank you Mom (and you too Dad!) I love you both more than I can say!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

day 45



Today is Valentine's Day and, more importantly, Charlie's 10th birthday. I know this is cheating but I couldn't choose just one photo for today. It's hard to get Charlie to sit still for photos these days but I got a bunch of good shots that capture his funny personality. I even caught him giving Hershey a kiss. Happy Birthday, big guy!

Friday, February 13, 2009

day 44


I had breakfast with my old friend Jason this morning at Currant. Since I was downtown, I drove over to the waterfront and took some shots of this sculpture near the USS Midway Museum. It's called 'Homecoming' and grabbed me from the moment I saw it, for obvious reasons. There were sailors (many of them in uniform) walking around, visiting the monuments and artworks along the dock. I don't think I'll ever be able to see a man in a Navy uniform and not feel proud or think of my dad.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

day 43


We had a Valentine exchange at school today. One of my girls brought in some cupcakes with 'Happy Valentine's Day Room 702' written on them. I wasn't at all disappointed to discover that she forgot to take the extras home... yum! There is nothing better than homemade cupcakes, especially white cake ones with pink frosting.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

day 42


Jody got me a couple of these Valentine bagels yesterday so I had one for breakfast this morning. I have to admit, I always shy away from these kind of holiday foods because the color freaks me out a bit. It was great and I think I may be over my weird aversion. Thanks Jody! :)

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

day 41


My cousin, Kevin got married back in September and this was the favor he and Kate gave out at the reception. I had it in a box of framed photos that I have been ignoring since I moved in here. The other day, I was moving things around to make room for a convertible sofa I bought when I came across it. I was very surprised to see that it had sprouted without even having any water in it - not to mention it was stuck in the bottom of a dark box! Stay tuned... I'm sure you'll be seeing it in future photos.

Monday, February 9, 2009

day 40


It POURED today! I haven't seen so much intense rain in a long time. It feels great to be snuggled up at home right now.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

day 39


Jody and I headed downtown for some lunch after church today. We weren't sure where we wanted to go exactly, so we drove around a bit and then settled on Nicky Rottens. They have great food and my favorite beer on tap - Stella. The skies were beautiful again so I also took some other shots as we walked through the Gaslamp Quarter...

Saturday, February 7, 2009

day 38


It rained off and on all day today so I was hoping to get a good rainbow shot... no such luck. Bummer.

Friday, February 6, 2009

day 37


The fireplace in my house is really ugly and I am hoping to have it rebuilt at some point. I started collecting some mercury glass candle holders recently, to decorate the mantle and draw attention away from the fireplace. This is the only votive holder I have so far but I really love it. I'm excited to see how it will look when it all comes together...

Thursday, February 5, 2009

day 36


During our PE break today, we headed outside to enjoy the cool, crisp afternoon. The storm hadn't hit yet and the skies were filled with big, puffy clouds. I'd love to post some of the photos of the kids but can't so I am posting this one of our classroom instead - not nearly as cute.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

day 35


After school today, I came across this little note on top of Gargamel's enclosure.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

day 34


Gargamel, one of my classroom pets, died last night. He was a beautiful oriental fire-bellied toad and had been my pet for the past 3 1/2 years. I took him out of his enclosure to feed him during class yesterday and forgot to put him back. I feel terrible.

My students and I buried him in the field next to our school's playground this afternoon. They placed small stones all over the spot where we buried him and fashioned a cross out of sticks to put beside it. (That's what you see in the photo above.) A group of the girls even held hands and said some prayers for him - it was very sweet.

Monday, February 2, 2009

day 33


I attended a meeting tonight for 'Off the Vine San Diego' so that I could meet some of the board members. I'll be taking photos at their events, beginning with the kick off on February 18th at Wine Steals in Point Loma.

Tonight we met at a place in North Park that I had never been to called Splash Wine Lounge. The have an interesting concept that Carlisa likes to call vending machine wine. You buy a rechargeable card and use it to purchase wine by the ounce. Bottles are set up all over the place, connected to machines - just slide in your card and press the red button for the wine you'd like to try. The lighting was so low that it was tough to get a steady shot (still haven't found that tripod!) but you get the idea. The whites are housed in a cooler, behind glass, against the wall but the reds are in the center of the room in round stations. I tried a Malbec from Argentina and another red from Spain that I can't recall. Both were terrific and I enjoyed being able to have a sample of the milk before buying the whole cow.

Jody, I'm taking you there one of these nights we hit up Urban Solace!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

day 32


I am into tulips lately. I think they are so elegant and they remind me of my sister's wedding. I bought these on Friday and they just started opening up this morning.