Suzanne Calling

Yesterday, I was up before dawn to cheer on two friends participating in their first 5K event. While I waited, I took some pictures of Florida Southern College (the race started here), and of Lake Hollingsworth, where the finish line was located. Here in Lakeland, many people travel to the lake to walk, run and ride bikes. It's nearly a 3 mile circuit around it, and the views are rather pleasant. But you get to see some of what makes it pretty, so don't just take my word for it!

St. Patrick's Day nails or USF nails? You decide. I thought I'd get green nails for St. Paddy's day, but then realized that by getting them done on Friday afternoon, hardly anyone would see them until after the 17th. When I walked in, Katie showed me her plans for my USF nails to go with my new job. At least this means that she wasn't going to try to get me to do Easter egg nails! I have to say, once again, Shellac did an awesome job lasting three weeks. The last few days, it was noticeable that I needed a new manicure, only because of the new growth-but that was just me noticing it. A girl complimented me on my nails Thursday and was stunned that I'd been wearing chip free polish for three weeks. Good product and a fantastic nail tech will make it happen, time after time. Unless I get swayed, I'll probably be getting Azure Wish next time. I'm plotting out some other colors-and contemplating making Katie some nail stencils with the new Cameo...

Today, I finished my tenure as a teacher. However, for the past week, I haven't been in my classroom. No, my replacement has been in there, while I've been the backup secretary. So, the week was weird and it ended on a strange note. I didn't get to even see most of my students to say goodbye. Still, I'm there on a regular basis because of Game Teen, so I'll probably see a bunch of them at various events. Like the prom, for instance. It was a great experience. I will miss the kids, and several of my coworkers have become pretty good friends. Thankfully, I've got plans for a standing lunch date with one and I suspect that others may want to join in on that. On to new beginnings...

A friend is vegan due to health reasons. As I am prone to do, I scope menus when I dine out, hoping to find places that can accommodate his needs with something more substantial than a potato and whatever vegetable du jour they may be serving. We planned to get together for dinner last week and when I asked where we would dine, he had no idea and told me to choose. In his words, I was the only other person he knew who would scope out a menu and pick up on why he couldn't eat something. Thankfully, I was able to compile a list of six Lakeland restaurants and links to most of the menus, with the eventual dining spot being Cafe Roti. Indian, which is a cuisine he was only familiar with because of all the Amy's frozen entrees. I was able to explain enough about the preparation and options he had, plus the Cafe Roti menu is pretty expansive. It was a great meal for conversation and laughter and finding another person who enjoyed the subtle thermonuclear heat bombs set off by...

If you hadn't gathered from the blog posts over the years, I'm a huge advocate for gay rights. From the time I was a kid, my parent's gay friends, then my gay classmates in high school and college, to the gay community that welcomed me and the first husband (and later, Ed) into their fold, a person's sexuality had no bearing on whether they would be a friend. Recently, someone I know called a friend the 'F' word for someone who is homosexual. The party who used it thought it was funny, and didn't see how rude and hurtful it was. To me, it is no different than using the 'R' word or the 'N' word, but the party who used it probably thinks those terms are okay to use, too. They're not. Words cut deep. It doesn't even matter the person's sexuality, the term is unacceptable. My opinion had been that kids coming out today have an easier time, they don't have to be closeted. Then I realized, if their peer group is still u...

I saw this today and was impressed-both with Billy's response and the young man's talent. Take a look:

I had a want, not a need. While I don't scrap, there are elements that I like about it. When the die-cut machines came out, they piqued my interest. Still, the idea of paying 40 bucks for a cartridge when I only wanted two or three items out of it kept me from buying. Then I found out about the Silhouette Cameo. You buy graphics and fonts individually. It does paper, but it also does vinyl, fabric, and sketching. While I won't use it a lot, I do see where having it will make things easier. Potentially, I'll be doing stuff for the school, even after I've gone. My current boss liked the idea of me making vinyl for their walls. In purple. Meanwhile, I see creating a Tardis cling for the back of my car. It'll be interesting to see what I can create...