Confessions of a Misplaced Southern Belle

Not so misplaced anymore!

blogmas

Merry Covid Christmas to Us. Blogmas 12/25/21

Well heck. We did everything right, all of us have had three doses of the vaccine, wear masks in public and at work, and we still got Covid. More than likely, I brought it home from school. I would have assumed that I had allergies had I not tested when Joel started feeing bad. Sure enough, both of us tested positive for Covid. I’m guessing it is Omicron based on symptoms. I’ve since tested negative as I am thinking I was at the tail end of the infection. We were supposed to be in Atlanta for the first time in four years and we are so upset and disappointed. We didn’t decorate this year and opted to open presents on the 22nd just before Joel and I took the Covid tests. Amanda is still negative thank goodness. I’m trying not to be annoyed by knitting, reading and watching YouTube. It’s not working. 🙁

The Christmas of our Discontent.

Blogmas Days 13-17

Well I didn’t plan on taking a break, but it got real busy at school trying to finish up the semester (Two half-days left!) and dealing with some kid drama, but it turned out to be a great ending to our week. My TSA chapter had their holiday party where we had a surprise appearance by Santa and Mrs. Claus (two of our officers.. the only kid small enough for the Mrs. Claus outfit was Andrew and he was a good sport about it.) Ronan had his grandfather’s and grandmother’s Santa outfits and these photos just made my day. Heck it made my year.

My officer team, minus one.

I also got a nice surprise when four of my favorite former students came to visit. This was the Covid class of 2020 and they were my absolute favorites. We did not get to go to the 2020 National Conference as like everything else, was cancelled, so 2019 ended up being our final conference together. Four of the seven were able to stop in and I’m hoping to see the other three before we leave for break. These are some amazing young men and women, and all of them are either in a form of engineering or computer science.

Left: 2019 TSA National Conference, Gaylord National Harbor. Right: Today at Southeast High School

We also ran our dragsters and had our Tech Bowl competition to see who will be representing us at state. Mrs. Faison got to push the button for the test car.

  • Dragster
  • Tech Bowl

A visit to the Chihuly–Blogmas Day 11

Amanda needed to go to the Chihuly Collection in St Pete today to film footage for the final that she is giving to her students next week, so I decided to tag along since it has been a few years since I have been. It’s a beautiful collection and I highly recommend a visit if you are in St. Pete. I’ve added a few of my favorite photos from today.

The Chihuly Collection

Blogmas Day 9

Jackson Square

This is one of my favorite photos from a road trip to New Orleans several years ago. My mom, my sister spent a weekend in New Orleans that was so much fun. This photo is hanging on my wall as a memento of that trip.

Ten on Tuesday—Blogmas Day 7

If you have been reading blogs before Instagram and TikTok took over, you may remember when Carole over at Carole Knits hosted a Ten on Tuesday. I think she still does something similar, but not as often. Anyway, I thought I’d dust off that tradition and try out a Ten on Tuesday. Today’s list is Ten of my favorite things about the Holiday Season.

  1. Christmas lights!
  2. Cooler weather means lower electric bill. (I’m in Florida, I’ll take what I can get!)
  3. Being able to wear long sleeves.
  4. Christmas decor.
  5. Hallmark Christmas movies! (My family makes fun of me, but I think they secretly like them)
  6. Being able to read for pleasure. Currently grad school takes up that free time.
  7. Knitting!
  8. Starbucks holiday drinks (Well, not the last two years since they discontinued my fave…gingerbread latte.)
  9. Holiday Break
  10. Homemade Christmas Candy. (I like to make my Great-great Aunt’s Heavenly Hash candy)

What are your ten favorite Christmas or Holiday things?

Sunday-ing. Blogmas Day 5

For the past six years, our favorite place to go while in St. Pete is Bandit Coffee on Central Ave. (I think I discovered it a year after it opened). For the last few months, Amanda and I have made it a Sunday morning tradition to go get coffee and breakfast, often getting the newest pastry offerings. This is one of the most welcoming and unpretentious coffee shops in St. Pete. Prior to the pandemic, it wasn’t unusual for Amanda to head up to work for a while, and even now, it’s not unusual for us to make a run over the Skyway after work for a coffee fix. (Yes, it’s 20 minutes from home, but it’s worth it.). Their interior has been closed since March of 2020 but has managed to survive, thrive AND expand it’s food offerings for drive up only. Earlier in the year, the Tampa Bay Times wrote an article on how they stayed open through the pandemic when many places closed. If you’d like to read about it, go HERE. Sara never fails to ask how we are doing when we see her, and I can’t wait for the time when they are ready to reopen their interior. If you are in St. Pete, please stop in for a coffee and a pastry made by their amazing pastry chef. Today I had their parfait bowl because I’m still not back to eating bread, but oh, my goodness, there is some sort of glaze or syrup on this that is just delicious. Just look at the strawberries, blueberries, bananas and this luscious granola, all on top of some silky smooth Greek yogurt. Follow them on Instagram Bandit St. Pete for photos that will make you want to get up on a weekend, or any day, and grab a coffee and a pastry. PS. We adore the shortbreads 🙂

Look! A Squirrel! Blogmas Day 4

Today I had to go out to Coquina Beach on Anna Maria Island to photograph a very sweet family. I have had the privilege of photographing them for seven years now. (I’ll post sneaks tomorrow) While I was waiting for them, this squirrel decide that he(or she) would be my model. It was a nice way to spend the time. I shot these on my iPhone with minimal editing. I think the only thing I did was crop them a little bit.

Thanks for posing for me

Meanwhile, back at home, Amanda is puppy sitting this one, Luna is seventeen weeks old. Our dogs can’t be bothered. Poor thing, she just wants to play, all of the time.

How is your weekend going?

Re-entry- Blogmas Day 2

After taking most of November off due to medical leave, this week back at work has been exhausting. I could go on a rant about how my kids didn’t do anything while I was out and what a mess this year has been, but I’m just going to keep reminding myself that Winter Break is less than three weeks away, I’m finished with this semester of grad school, I can now read and knit without guilt and that I’m recovering nicely. 🙂 We have a crazy weekend coming up. I have a photoshoot Saturday morning and we are puppy-siting for a friend. Adding the puppy to our crazy three labs should be entertaining! lol Hope everyone is having a great week.