Getting through any way I can

Things that are helping me get through today:

• Listening to my Ray LeMontagne Pandora station
• Understanding and kind folks at the obit desks of the Mobile/Baldwin area newspapers
• Having an understanding and supportive work/school environment
• My husband, who cracks jokes when I need a laugh
• A best friend who has selflessly offered her support in her own time of need.

I'd say that is a pretty good start.

Miss you Pee-Paw.

Dealing with the inevitable

I've been putting off writing about something personal in here because I guess I just don't know how to express certain things anymore in such a wide open way. Suffice to say that once upon a time I was willing to tell just about anything to a blank computer screen and send it out into the abyss for all (or none) to read. But now, as I am getting older, I know the value of talking with people close to you about the things that really matter. Human contact and interaction are highly-underrated these days.

So anyways, the news is that my grandpa is nearing the end here on earth. He has walked it for 84 years, and had - by all accounts- a blessed and charmed life. I don't think he would ever disagree. But the hardest part of it all for me is that whether I like it or not, his life will end sometime in the future. It certainly has come sooner than I had expected.

The other bad news in this post is that one of my best friends is also dealing with loss in her life. We all feel it differently, some more deeply than others, but there is no mistaking how it changes you when you are the one left behind.

So before I leave on this most utterly depressing note, here is one of my favorite pictures from our wedding, can you spot my Pee Paw?

Me and The Beach

...are like peas and carrots.
Or we used to be, when I was younger, thinner, and had fewer cares in the world. Naturally, being from the Eastern Shore, the beach was just a part of life. My "beach" was really Mobile Bay and the "big beach" was Gulf Shores, which was always just a short car ride away.

Since I went to college in Birmingham and now live in Tuscaloosa, I find myself missing the beach quite a lot. Being just stroll away from the water is something I always took for granted when I lived there. It has been a solid 8 years since I was really living at home, and I am hoping one day we will reunite. But for now, short trips will have to suffice.

Which brings me to my next thing - a short trip to the "real beach"! Jennings and I will be taking the first part of my spring break to hang out in Fort Morgan in a cute little nautical-themed condo that we found.

So on this rainy day I will be imagining the beach, and not all that yucky work stuff I should be doing.

Anyone else still get a spring break? What are your plans?

Goldie needs a nap

I know it is Tuesday, but it sure feels like Monday all over again. This weekend, I got to help with the College of Arts & Sciences biggest fundraiser event, the Arty Party, and I hate to say it but I am still recovering. I even resorted to drinking black coffee this morning. If you know me at all, you know that coffee is not even my thing. I'll have the occasional espresso drink, but I hardly ever have coffee.

At any rate, the event was a pretty big success, preliminary estimates show we raised about $40 k for the department of Art and Art History. One of my tasks was to photograph all the auction items so they could be advertised on our website. Here is one of my personal faves:


In Woods Quad on the UA campus, there is a giant iron statue of a sleepy robot name Goldie. For the Arty Party, the artist made a miniature Goldie to auction off and I thought it would be neat to photograph them together. =)

Also, laying down and taking a nap is definitely something I would like to do right now....