Aunt Anna

I found out on Dec 23 that I am going to be an aunt!!!!!  Megan and Bob are going to have a baby!!!! Well, Megan is going to have the baby:)

She is 10 weeks pregnant and is due on July 28, 2008.  

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, the birthday weekend was fabulous.  I don't think I have ever celebrated any other birthday so thoroughly as 26.  Johnny took me to a fabulous little restaurant in downtown Louisville called Artemesia.  We sat outside on the patio and the outdoor space-heaters and fireplace kept us warm on the 30 degree night.  A jazz trio played and white Christmas lights gave a warm glow to the tree and garland. We finished off the night with my favorite...fun-fetti cake with strawberry icing...Johnny's very first attempt at baking was a great success. Saturday we celebrated in Lanesville.  It was so wonderful to have everyone there...except for Megan and Bob who we can't WAIT to see in a couple of days.  Renee and Mom made a fabulous veggie lasagna and caesar salad.  Cake: yellow with chocolate icing....had to change it up for all of the cakes this weekend.  Very good too.  The night was complete with a wood-burning fire.  Sunday, we went to the Brinkworth's house and Grannie and Grampies came too. Margaret made a great dinner and a homemade, out of this world, cheesecake. 

Must head to the gym soon.

Oh, and if I wasn't deserted out enough this weekend, my supervisor at work brought in a german-chocolate cake today for a belated-birthday gift. 

Christmas cookies ahead...yay for sugar:)

Grandma Clark will have her open heart surgery tomorrow at 7 am in Nashville, TN at Vanderbilt Medical Center.  Please keep her in your prayers.

And the seasons, they go round and round.

Well, I had to work today...but it was worth it because I get to take a comp-day this Friday...my birthday! If Mom isn't in Nashville for Grandma's surgery recovery, then Mom, Renee, and I will all get to hang out during the day on Friday.  Johnny is taking me out Friday night to a surprise restaurant for more birthday celebration. Yay!  I can't believe I will be 26 in a couple days. That kind of sounds old to me...yikes. 

Flecktones, Tuvan Singers, and some folks from Indiana

                                  

                                           

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones

December 6th, 2008

The Brown Theatre

A night to remember...

We gave Mom and Dad tickets to Bela Fleck and dinner out for their 30th Anniversary.

And of course, if Bela was in town, we couldn't miss out.  So Renee, Ben, Johnny and myself all purchased tickets as well.  Everyone met at our house to hang out before the show.  Mom and Dad left early to enjoy a dinner at Pat's Steakhouse, and Renee helped me make pizza rolls and a spinach salad.  We all met up at the Brown Theatre before the show and made our way to the balcony in plenty of time for Bela to hit the stage.  The Brown is such and intimate theatre, I don't think there is a bad seat in the house. 

If you've never seen Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, it would be hard to imagine how amazing this show was...it was the opening night of their holiday tour and they played with Tuvan Throat singers from Tuva on select pieces. "Testing the limits of vocal ingenuity, throat-singers can create sounds unlike anything in ordinary speech and song...carrying two musical lines simultaneously." Amazing. This was Christmas music like you've never heard before...jazzy, folky, classical...all mixed together.  It wasn't over-kill either, because it was so different from regular Christmas music.  And, they opened with "Big Country" one of mine and Renee's favorites (not a Christmas tune). 

They were surprisingly funny too.  The entire audience was literally laughing out loud....every face had a smile on it. They were kind enough to stick around after the show and we got to meet each one of them...see above pictures!

Stuart Spartans

Johnny has done it again!

Today it was announced over the intercom at school that not only has Mr. Brinkworth just received Teacher of the Month, he was this week's "Notable Spartan of the Week" and his classroom went up in cheers.

What a good week.

Oh, and I am free of cavities....(just went to my cleaning today)....LOVE getting a clean bill of health from the dentist. Yay!

Off to a Christmas party for work tonight at The Bristol downtown.  Should be a fun night.

Teacher of the Month

Johnny brought home some very exciting news today.  He was selected out of ALL the teachers at Stuart Middle School as "Teacher of the Month"....very well deserved I must say. Some of the veteran teachers told him that they have never seen a first year teacher perform so well. The principal of the school summed it up pretty well: "If I could bottle up all of what Johnny brings to Stuart Middle, to his students, and to this field and give it to all of the other teachers, amazing things would happen."  

The kids that have Johnny are lucky and are learning and experiencing science in ways I never could have dreamed of when I was in 6th grade. 

Congratulations Mr. B!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanksgiving

Well the pecan pie turned out great!  And much easier than I had imagined (although I did cheat a little as the crust was not homemade).  The day was great too.  We ate with Johnny's side of the family at Grannie and Grampies first and then spent the afternoon and into the evening with the Wahl/Clark side in Lanesville.  It was a crisp night and we toasted ourselves by the bonfire while Dad gave us a lesson on the constellations.  The only ones I can ever seem to remember besides the Big and Little Dipper is Orion and  the 7 Sisters.  I'll have to keep relying on Dad until someday I decide to study the night sky and remember for myself.