i don't make this stuff up...

look what was waiting for me at work today...


i'm hoping this is the last of the hampton inn alligator family. we certainly don't need the mother showing up!

spt - school days, school days

as promised, two challenges this week. i firmly believe in jumping right back into the saddle!!

for next week, how about a self portrait of the *end-of-summer* you? the you who is thankful for school routines, or the you who is pining at home for the schoolbus to return? are you waiting in endless carpool lanes? or relishing the "time off" in starbucks or the craft store? are you in school yourelf? or just frustrated to be stuck behind a schoolbus during your morning commute? do you even notice the shift from *summer* back to "school*??

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

the next challenge is going to send you back in time. i'm giving you an extra week, and a little freedom from the "self-portrait" guidelines...

for tuesday, september 11, get out those family photo albums and really take a look at your old school portraits. what is your favorite childhood memory of going back to school? were those good times, or stressful times for the younger you? were you decked out in new clothes? did your mom give your hair a trim the night before school? did they still use chalk in the classroom then? did you have to walk uphill through the snow both ways?!?

i hope you will take the time to find those old photos! call your mom and ask her to send them along to you. ask your neighbor if you can borrow their scanner. take a few moments to get back in touch with your inner child!

milestones

post #200 today. with the *lack of blogging* i did this summer, i'm quite surprised that i've come so far. i'm also amazed, looking back, at how much of my life i've managed to wrap into bite size packages.

so i'm going to take some time today to read through the past few months. to relish in the surprises that i will surely find there. and to give thanks for everything that this little blog has given me so far.

and tomorrow, i will give you two, count 'em 2 spt challenges!!

(check out spell with flickr to stylize your words and numbers, just like i did. thanks for the link, missy)

whodunnit?!?

i'm here!! i'm back!! the kiddies are in school and i am ready to get my life back together!! to celebrate the return to normal, we went to a tremendously fun murder mystery party on saturday night. it was a fundraiser for our playground project. this is the second murder mystery party i've been to this year (i actually have a post sitting in my draft folder about the first one...)

we were back in "1985" for a "class reunion." it was just like old times for me! in fact, when i walked into the party, all of my family said "wow. you look exactly like you looked every. single. day. of senior year!!"

(i'm not convinced that's a compliment...)



matty won a prize for "best dressed!" he even managed to keep the wig on all night! click here for more pictures, and to read about our TOTALLY TUBULAR party!!

look who went skinny dipping last night...

i got a call to come back to the hotel at 11 pm, because this *little* guy was having a swim!!

he'd been hanging out in the retention pond for a few weeks. the state wildlife department had advised us that we needed to contract someone to remove him from the property. (in north carolina, it is against the law to disturb an alligator in his natural environment, or something like that.) at any rate, the alligator hunter had just gotten back to me with a quote of $300.00

funny thing is, once the alligator made it into the pool, he became a "nuisance," and the state had someone out within 40 minutes (at 11 p.m.), and he was removed for free!!

notes from the drawing board

see me up there? hard at work? (actually, i was posing as the "guest" in this photo.) at any rate, just wanted to give you an idea where i am spending 97.8672634% of my time these days...

i must thank all of you who keep stopping by to see if i've blogged anything lately. i will tease you with this: ideas that are rambling about in my head that are totally blogworthy!

random acts of kindness: lots of water and gumball jars for jack's camp counselors
godspell: the show is cast and i'm blogging the whole experience (see! i still blog)
vacation bible school: now so much more than Gods-eyes and dixie cups
class reunion at JAMES D.MURDER HIGH: i missed my class reunion this summer, but will be celebrating at a murder mystery party next weekend
cheerleading: in which i learn the ups and downs of "16 year-olds these days"
spt: i need to SEE my friends!!

hope you are well. twelve (!) days until school...

well, maybe a wee bit out in the countryside

You Belong in London

A little old fashioned, and a little modern. A little traditional, and a little bit punk rock. A unique soul like you needs a city that offers everything. No wonder you and London will get along so well.

What City Do You Belong In?

spt

spt needs a vacation!! spt is so sad to have missed the blogger party in utah. spt is tired from carpooling and working and waiting for the results of cheerleading tryouts.

spt misses playing well with others, and finding it's true colors and putting it's best foot forward.

spt will be back on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4th. there will be an awesome challenge, with plenty of time to prepare. check back soon for details!!

i am here.

and i can't go another day without saying hello. be patient, i will return (as soon as the tourists go back home!!)

how are you?!?