Father's Day Weekend...

We just got home from our weekend in Birmingham. It was Father's Day weekend and Rich wanted to be with all of his girls...he hadn't seen the new house since the move-in...Claire wanted to see us.  It was an easy decision :)

Heading out on Friday for dinner...

Saturday 9:00am...first stop the downtown Farmer's Market

Claire "borrowed" Chelsea's wild sunglasses

Nicole and Claire check out the blueberries

Rich took this sign to heart...he had a sausage biscuit, a cinnamon roll, and a coffee popsicle...

The tomatoes were beautiful AND they tasted like tomatoes...so we had to get some!

Time to go but we were loaded down with peaches, blueberries, tomatoes,

 corn on  the cob, and a basil and spearmint plant.  Next stop the Botanical Gardens to check out the rose garden and play a little hide and seek!

Pop and Claire brave the water sculpture...

Why don't my roses look this good????

Fathers and daughters...

                             

GiGi and Claire...the green girls!

Now for hide and seek...

While Claire and Katelyn take a romp through the gardens

 Nicole and David decide to stroll...

After a busy morning it is time for lunch...and a nap!!

Fun with Claire before church on Sunday...

When it is time to go and she says..."I go to your house to see Gabby..."

I just want to say "Let's go!!

My Summer Adventure at Girls Inc.

Today I set up for the summer book club that I will be leading at our local Girls Inc.   The theme for the summer camp (which starts next Monday) is... "not a vacation from learning, but a vacation of learning."  The 200 girls will be "traveling" around the world in order to learn about different cultures.

Our book club will take the girls to Mexico, Italy, China, Australia, France, and Chicago!  The girls will make journals, kites, sock puppets, key necklaces, and bake cookies! 

One of the decorations for my "classroom"
(which is actually the stage in the community room) is the banner I made using an old atlas...

I am soooo excited about this opportunity to hopefully pass along my love for books and writing and fun to a group of awesome girls who will surely pass a few things along to me!! Pray for us all (including Chelsea and Kate...my two assistants) as we start our adventure!!  And if by chance you are in town and want to help with making sock puppets or kites...let me know :)

A Book Can Take You Around the World!

Last week I left you with this little teaser...

It didn't dawn on me that anyone would think I was planning a world-wide trip  until Katelyn said "I am not hearing about something big on the blog am I"??

No Way...there is too much going on in the life of our family to fit that in!!

This is a trip of sorts, but much closer to home!!  So, first, a little background...
I have been "retired" from teaching for 5 years now (that is so hard for me to believe)!! I knew that I would not go back to full time teaching once I left because, while it was so rewarding and a calling, it was a never-ending-take-the-work- home-with-you career.  I was so organized while I worked that I don't think I exhaled during the school year...no, I am serious! About a year into my "retirement" I commented to Rich "How did I do all of this while working?"  to which he answered "You didn't do all of this"  :(  Okay, my family never really suffered except the part about me teaching at the school Kate and Chelsea attended. But enough history, spring forward to now...Now I am ready to do something.  After a year of reflection and prayer it became crystal clear.  Do what I love!  Isn't that the reason for the God-given gifts...to use them to help others, glorify Him, and get outside of myself???!!! 

My favorite part of teaching was the literature unit (what...they don't those anymore???)  I love books and loved exposing the kids to all of the possibilities that reading can inspire!  Soooo, I went to our local Girls Inc and talked with them about my idea of creating a library for them on site and volunteering one day a week year round to host book clubs for all of the different age groups.   I am leaving out lots of details here but let's just say that God went before me on this one and everything has fallen into place beautifully.  For the past month I have been reading children's lit again and I am loving it. I am creating a program for the summer camp (which serves approximately 200 girls) in which every girl will experience life around the world  through books (this is in keeping with the summer camp's theme).  The first and second grades will be reading folktales from around the world (Koala Lou, Tikki Tikki Tembo...)and they will be doing crafts and keeping a journal.  Third grade will be traveling about with Jack and Annie and experiencing their adventures in the Magic Tree House books. The 4th graders are going to get to know the very strong character of Pippi Longstocking and maybe we will have Pippi day with pigtails and striped socks!! I found a really cool book, The Sixty-Eight Rooms which will take the 5th graders to the Chicago Art Institute to visit the magical Thorne Rooms.  For the 6th graders and beyond it is one of my all time faves...The Thief Lord, set in Venice, Italy.

I am excited about working with kids again...I am excited that both Chelsea and Katelyn have committed to volunteering with their mom!! I am praying that God uses this opportunity to do something wonderful for everyone involved!! I will be blogging about my adventures and if I get permission will include some pictures...

Keep me in your prayers...summer camp begins June 11th!!

La Crema Tapas and Chocolate...A Good Thing

On Sunday afternoon Rich and I decided to take a drive west from the condo and find a new restaurant.  We made it as far as Rosemary Beach and stopped at a restaurant I have been eyeing for awhile...

This restaurant is fashioned after the famous Tapas bars of Barcelona, Spain and is a treat on a breezy spring afternoon.

 Rich decided on a Grande Tapas (meant to be shared with friends... which today means me :) dish of En Fuego Chicken...spicy chicken bites with a cool caper cream sauce. I chose the La Crema Salad which was spinach with candied walnuts, goat cheese, tomatoes and cranberries tossed with sherry vinaigrette. We finished with the OMG Chocolate Espresso Cookie (Two warm triple chocolate cookies with a whipped espresso cream center drizzled with warm chocolate sauce...). We weren't hungry enough, but next time I want to try the Country Paella and Steak Empanadas and maybe the Chocolate Soup (a cup of thick chocolate soup garnished with toasted cinnamon croutons and a ball of vanilla ice cream)!!

This is definitely a place for a dinner party...and you know there will be one in the group who will be into the Chocolate Dipped Bacon and the Spanish Strawberries...I will stick with the Sipping Chocolate!

                                            Feliz Comiendo!!

We're Off to the Races and UGA and...

It has been a memorable week in the Dodd house that is for sure!!  On Sunday Rich ran the half marathon in Birmingham and took some time off his personal best!!  It was freezing cold (24 degrees and I've no idea the wind chill factor)...no...that doesn't even come close to describing how cold it was!! It was cold enough that Rich actually wore 3 layers of pants and 4 layers of shirts, etc. He wore three pairs of gloves and this ski mask looking thing.  He wore two pairs of socks something he never does...(feet, socks, and shoes...must be a perfect fit else you suffer from blisters)!  He even wrapped a scarf around his face to keep warm (that was the first thing to go missing and barely made it to the starting line)!

Meanwhile, Nicole and I debated over very important stuff too! turtleneck?...UnderArmour?...scarves?...hats?...earmuffs?...boots?...when can we stop for Starbucks?...can we find places to cheer Rich on in which he will be able to see us while we will be in the warmth of the car?...

It was a grand morning and other than the incident with the policeman who wanted to give us (us??? totally Nicole as she was driving) a ticket for our disregard of a barricade, and we had zero time to stop at Starbucks in Five Points and grab that Venti Non-fat NoWhip Cinnamon Dolce Latte...we managed to see Rich 3 times during the race and we were at the finish line with cameras!!

After his walk about, clothes change, massage, and a beer (I don't understand this concept...I have only done 2 half marathons BUT I have never thought "FINISHED...now where's my beer?" We went back to 5 Points and ahhhhh got that coffee :) With donut in hand Rich was out on the side of the road encouraging those brave souls who were running the full marathon!!  Next up for him the Music City Half Marathon in Nashville...lucky for Kate it should be warmer and he will dress...well without the hood and the Bama sweatshirt for sure...he will have to sport something Vandy!!

Monday we got some wonderful news from Chelsea...she got accepted into UGA's School of Pharmacy!!!  Okay, since this is my blog can I brag a bit????  Chelsea was invited to the first round of interviews which took place during the month of January.  She was among 90+/- applicants who were being interviewed early.  From this group of interviews 20 students would be offered admission to the school!!  If she hadn't been chosen in the first 20 she would still be in the running for admission (well...unless she got a thanks but no thanks letter in the mail) she would just have to wait until the next round of interviews were completed and then another group would receive letters at the first of March...15th of March...1st of April...15th of April... Needless to say, she (and all of us who love her and live with her) are thrilled that this is the outcome!!  She got into her first (truth be known ONLY) choice, and now she can enjoy this last semester at Auburn...if that is possible with these five classes...Genomic Biology, Comparative Anatomy, Bio-Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, and Immunology!!! YIKES...WHAT IS A GENOMIC ANYWAY????

On the way to Athens...Chelsea goes over her very detailed interview

 notes while texting with Stephen!

We're here :)

After a quick change at the hotel (The Georgia Center) we

walked around the corner and there it was...

With three whole hours to kill Rich and I decided to enjoy the beautiful day

 and we walked the entire campus...praying all the while!

We made it back to the hotel about 30 minutes before Chelsea...

after a detailed debriefing she wanted to get out of the "grown-up clothes" and talk to bud Ali (who had just gotten accepted to UF's Pharmacy School...YAY ALI :)

That night we went to dinner and then Rich decided to go out on the street and try to find tickets to the Georgia/Kentucky basketball game. After some savvy wheeling and dealing he scored tickets...in the nosebleed section!!  But we had fun anyway...and for a few brief minutes Georgia gave Kentucky a workout!!

Even though she doesn't need an undergrad degree for pharmacy school, she has decided that she wants to be an Auburn Alum and will graduate from Auburn in August after she takes one last class online this summer. Thank you to the dean who approved this and even helped her find the class so she could come home to Panama City this summer and not spend 10 weeks in Auburn taking a Physics class!! It is hard to believe that three years have gone by already!!!  But onward to UGA and four years of more chemistry than any one person should ever need to know ;)  She loves this stuff and will be such an asset wherever the future takes her...so more power to her!! Oh, and University of Georgia...you are one lucky DAWG for getting Chelsea Dodd (...have to practice saying DAWG  ;)

Last...yesterday was Valentine's Day! I hope yours was sweet!  Rich and I cooked dinner together using my new WOK(not a Valentine's gift)...it's the simple things! 

Gotta get going...stay tuned though cause this afternoon Gabby and I have our first appointment with the trainer!!!  I am sure there will be a story there!!