November 30, 2012

November 30, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Even though I don't like it getting dark early, I love being able to see the sunset on the way home.

November 29, 2012

November 29, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Cheesy photo of the dog and me.

November 28, 2012

November 28, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Evenings in the Bryan house.

November 27, 2012

November 27, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Not too long ago, one of my principals sent out an email from the Carolina Panthers. They were having a contest/grant opportunity for whomever could paint the best rock. Here's the submission from my school! I think it's pretty great.

November 26, 2012

November 26, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Tonight for Meatless Monday, I tried something new. This is a recipe I found on Pinterest for Easy Pad Thai, so that was what I attempted. It turned out pretty good, so good, in fact, that we have no leftovers.

November 25, 2012

November 25, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Donald and I are grillers. We typically grill 3 or 4 times a week, all year long. However, we just haven't done much grilling, for one reason or another. Last night, Donald went out to fire it up, and had a hard time getting it started. He figured the tank was out of gas, and swapped it out. As soon as he connected it and went to light, it erupted in fire underneath. His quick thinking saved a disaster. He just cut the gas off, and the fire went out. After investigating, this is what we saw underneath the grill. I'm guessing it was either a possum or a raccoon that has been having some fun under there.

November 23, 2011

November 23, 2011, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

The decorating has begun! Icicle lights are always first!

November 23, 2012

November 23, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I am a day late posting the obligatory group photo from a family gathering. But, better late than never, right? We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and all the food was delicious. We missed the family members that couldn't be there with us.

November 22, 2012

November 22, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Happy Thanksgiving! I have many, many things to be thankful for this year, one of which is that Thug is recovering from being so sick a couple of months ago. I didn't think he would make it to his 12th birthday, but here he is! Happy Birthday to my best little buddy!

November 21, 2012

November 21, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I went by UNCC today. This view is leaving the new student union going toward the parking deck. Quite nice, I think.

November 20, 2012

November 20, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Sometime over the weekend, someone vandalized about 80 grave sites at a cemetery in Concord. They kicked over some, and used a machete to shred veteran's flags on the graves. As soon as I found out, I went to make sure my grandparents' and great-grandparents' graves were OK. Luckily, their graves were unharmed.

November 19, 2012

November 19, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

The holiday baking (and sampling) has begun.

November 18, 2012

November 18, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

The day got away from me today, and I didn't get around to taking any pictures. So, you get another picture of Patrick from the parade. This morning, we all went to breakfast at the local diner. Life in a small town means there are lots of regulars that go every day, and they are mostly senior citizens. Patrick made friends with all of them. One old man even patted him on the head and gave him a dollar! I guess you can say that was his first random act of kindness.

November 17, 2012

November 17, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

We all went to the Concord Christmas Parade today. Patrick seemed to enjoy himself, and he lasted through the entire parade! He has just recently learned where his nose is, so he wants to show us all the time.

November 16, 2012

November 16, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I wish the picture had turned out the way it was in real life. There was a rainbow just by the sun.

November 15, 2012

November 15, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

My first attempt at calzones.

November 14, 2012

November 14, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I did not take today's picture. Over the past month I have been working with the media specialist planning lessons for an autistic class. We decided to do a mini unit on fire safety with these kids, and since we only see them once a week, we repeat a lot of the lessons. We have shown them pictures of fire safety items around the school, such as fire alarms and extinguishers. Today, each student got a camera and went on a scavenger hunt around the school, looking for those things and taking pictures when they found it. As it turns out, two little girls in the class LOVED taking pictures. They not only found everything they were supposed to find, they wanted to take pictures of the people, too. So, here I am with the media specialist. What a fun day!

November 13, 2012

November 13, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

It has been a long day, and I was too tired and lazy to get up and take a picture. So, you're getting the opening page of my favorite book on the iPad. I have been baking bread lately, and the recipe comes from this book. You basically mix up the dough and keep it in the refrigerator. Each day that you want bread, you pull a chunk off and let it rest, then bake it. The bread is quite good, and I feel good knowing it's homemade with no preservatives.

November 12, 2012

November 12, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Sometimes, you just want a chocolate chip cookie.

November 11, 2012

November 11, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

When I first moved in to our house, I told Donald I wanted to put some chairs in the woods by the creek. That is what prompted him to start wood working and make chairs. I've lived in this house for 8 1/2 years now, and we finally put the chairs in the woods. I spent a while out there this afternoon, and loved every minute of it.

November 10, 2012

November 10, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

We hosted a going away party for my friend Lesley today. She loves oysters, so we had an oyster roast for her. It turned out to be a lot of fun!

November 9, 2012

November 9, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I realized Saturday morning that I did not post a picture on Friday. I will try and make that up with this one. This is the little bridge across the creek in our backyard.

November 8, 2012

November 8, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I've worked in one of our middle schools for the last two days. They got infected with a virus and it has taken half of our department to clean up the mess.

November 7, 2012

November 7, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I know I've told you before about my love affair with Aldi. I went there over the weekend and picked up this box of Mushroom Risotto. Donald had a work meeting tonight, so I was on my own for supper. I was pleasantly surprised with how good this was! If you have an Aldi anywhere near you, GO! It's great!

November 6, 2012

November 6, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

One of my principals got a Kindle Fire for participating in some meeting/study. I was certain they had left the charger out of the box until I read the directions. Looks like they just supply the cable, but you have to buy the charger seperately. Interesting.

November 5, 2012

November 5, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I guess it's officially the end of pretty toes season.

November 4, 2012

November 4, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! We're almost home! I can smell it! Now would someone PLEASE open the window?

November 3, 2012

November 3, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

Donald and I took advantage of our time in Concord this weekend and went to the first ever Runnin Hot Festival. It was sponsored by the Cabarrus Home Brewers Association. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and we ran into some old friends while we were there.

November 2, 2012

November 2, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

I thought it may be time to give you another Thug update. He continues to respond well to the steroids, but tires very easily. We are still carrying him up the hill when we go out for a walk and put him down when we get to a flat area. Hills are just too much for him, and really wear him out. On the bright side, he still has energy and tries to do things he used to before he got sick. His body just doesn't respond the way it used to. He can't seem to wag his tail anymore. All in all, we're happy he's better. We know his days are numbered. At least we're getting used to the idea now.

November 1, 2012

November 1, 2012, a photo by bbryan on Flickr.

My mother had a bad fall yesterday. She fell down the steps at the Sport's Center. This morning, she sent me a picture of her foot and I was certain it was broken. It took quite a bit of coercing but I was finally able to convince her she needed to get her foot xrayed. Needless to say, I felt the need to come home to see for myself how she was doing. Luckily, her foot is not broken, it's just a bad sprain.