day 212

Dan and I went out for sushi tonight. This is a new food for me so I just let him order for us. I don't have a clue what this is called. I know it had crab and shrimp and avocado and a lot of Panko to make it crunchy. Good stuff!

day 211

I took the Browns to Coronado this afternoon. It was absolutely beautiful out and I think it was good for all of us to get out in the sunshine for a while. Living in San Diego is pretty freakin' great!

day 210

This basil plant is a source of great frustration for me. Hopefully I will figure out how to keep it healthy at some point and actually use some of its leaves in my food. Hopefully.

day 209

I went to see The Fray in concert tonight at Cricket with Jody, Arijana and Naeem. We were surprised to discover that we actually had seats - usually, when we go to Cricket, we sit out on the lawn but it was closed for tonight's show. The bummer was that we didn't get to sit together. Jody and I had awesome seats right in the center and it was a great show!

day 208

day 207

Nanci and I had dinner at Urban Solace tonight. The food, as always, was amazing. We tried something new this time - the Dungeness Crab Pop Tart. You can see the other dishes we shared here.
It was so great to see you and catch up in person Nanci! Thank you for indulging me as I photographed everything that came our way. Next time I'll capture you first! I love you! :)

day 206

LdV had an information booth at the Inaugural Football Kick Off Celebration for Southwestern Pop Warner Football and Cheer today. It was a fundraiser for the March of Dimes so they were selling raffle tickets for $10. Sharyn was the only one of us that actually won and her prize was these boxing gloves. This is my favorite shot from the event - she was so cute and giggly as I was photographing her.

day 205

Dan grows these little roma tomatoes in his backyard.

day 204

We signed the lease with Mater Dei this afternoon - more accurately, Sharyn signed. Here she is right before the big moment. I think that the signing of things is going to be a new theme of my photos in the coming weeks...

day 203

Today was a gigantic day for my best friend Jody and me. With the lease finally settled, all of the pieces have finally come together and we were able to resign from CVESD, where we have worked for the last 12 years.

day 202

Going to be doing a bit of celebrating tonight with Dan and his 'business partner' who just closed on a second property in Belize. I'm bringing along some bubbly.

day 201

On my way home from yoga, I was thinking that I hadn't taken any photos all day. I dug my PowerShot out of my purse and snapped away while I drove down Olympic Parkway. Wonder if anyone has ever gotten in an accident doing that...

day 200

On a side street in Liberty Station that no one seems to use, rests this very old sign for Hotel San Diego. I first spotted it several months ago and have been meaning to bring my camera to church with me so that I could get some shots of it. I finally remembered today. I wonder how it ended up here and what is planned for it...

These did not turn out the way I saw them in my head so I'm thinking I'd like to reshoot them in the evening.

day 199

day 198

Today was the last day of our training at the Fleet. (In this photo, Amber is observing a chemical reaction.) It was an amazing learning experience and we had such a great time. I can't wait to get back to school and get busy doing inquiry with the kids!

day 197

I went to see Coldplay tonight at Cricket and it was ah-mazing! For one of the songs, they came all the way out to the lawn area where we were sitting and played on a mini stage - I shot this from about 10 yards away from them. Awesome! See the rest of the photos here.

day 196

Trevor (the son of my friend and director, Sharyn) found this little turtle wandering around today. It's quite a mover and was very interesting to watch. I wonder if Trevor can convince his parents to let him keep it...

day 195

I am participating in the Fleet Inquiry Institute this week at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. We had lunch today at the SDMA Sculpture Court Cafe. From my seat, this is what I was looking at - the dome of the San Diego Museum of Man. I just love the buildings in Balboa Park!

day 194

The Browns and I walked over to Mater Dei this evening so that I could take a few photos for the LdV website. I didn't like the lighting as much as I thought I would so it looks like I'll have to go back for a reshoot in the morning. It only took 15 minutes to get there. Pretty cool.

day 193

day 192

Charlie is the cutest. He lays like this all the time but I haven't been able to capture it until today. Score one for me!

day 191

Lisa (on the left) threw a 'Celebrate Cynthia' party tonight at Wine Steals in Point Loma. They used to work together for the California Charter School Association (which is how I met Cynthia.) As we were working things out last year, deciding what to do about the charter at Clear View, they came in to help us out and give us support from the charter side. We continued a close relationship with Cynthia as we moved on and wrote our new 'smarter charter.' She was an AMAZING help to us along the way and now serves on our Board of Trustees. Unfortunately, the CCSA had to scale back and laid her off a couple of months ago. But... we feel very blessed to benefit from this situation and are SO excited about working with her as a part of our LdV staff. She is terrific and we are so grateful for her! Cynthia, you rock!

day 190

During the summer, there are free concerts all over San Diego just about every night of the week. Today, Dan and I went to see a steel drum band called The Steel Monarchs with some of my friends from Clear View. We picnicked, had wine, watched the kids run around and enjoyed the beautiful evening in Balboa Park. I had so many favorite photos that I had a really hard time choosing just one. This one is Marina, Echo and Will's little girl. To see the rest of the set, click here. Can't wait to do it again next week!

day 189

Thank you Pam, for giving me this little rock and reminding me how important it is to believe in myself, believe that I'm on the right path, believe that things will work out in the end and to believe in the people I hold close to me. I am so grateful for your friendship, thoughtfulness and care. I love you!

day 188

Tonight I had dinner at Bleu Boheme in Kensington with Jody and Marva. We've been trying to get out with Marva for a long time so it was really great to finally catch up with her. The food was fantastic and beautifully presented! I think my favorite may have been the Crèpe au “Nutela”, Glace au Chocolat Blanc - a crepe with Nutella in it and white chocolate ice cream. Yum! See the rest of the photos here.

day 187

I had lunch with Jody, Robyn and her kids this afternoon - to celebrate Robyn's birthday. We walked around the mall for a bit after we ate and landed in Anthropologie again (does this all sound familiar?) Holden is such a character! He loved the beds they had set up and tried all of them out. Does he look like a little man or what?!

day 186

Jody and I ate at Burger Lounge in Old Town this afternoon. We had tried one of their burgers last weekend at the Taste of Adams but never actually made it inside the restaurant. It was a beautiful afternoon so we sat outside on the patio. The food was excellent and we'll absolutely eat there again! I loved the decor and took several other shots as well.

day 185

This is the spread from our not-so-American brunch in celebration of the 4th of July. Dee-lish!

day 184

This is Dan's dog, Sarah. She is the sweetest, most gentle dog I think I have ever met. She's about the same age as my dogs but you'd never know it.

day 183

I met up with the LdV Team for some curriculum planning today. Echo brought her new little guy, Nate, with her. They sat next to me so I got to listen to his little noises while he slept. I just love those!

day 182

Just...a...little...farther... got it!