Snake in the Grass

To sum up life in suburbia: I was sitting out on the deck getting a little sun on my arms because I'm wearing a sleeveless shirt to this dinner I'm going to tonight. I had my camera and saw this guy slither by:

Life in the Attendance Office

During this school year every Wednesday for 2-1/2 hours I volunteer in the attendance office at my son's high school. With the exception of 2 times (work conflict & daughter sick) I haven't missed a week. I'm no super volunteer, high energy, always dressed up PTA mom so the fact I've upheld my commitment even surprises me. (for the record I've hardly set foot at my daughter's school). More of a surprise is the fact I've enjoyed my time there. High school kids can be amazing and hilarious. To their credit, most are very respectful but I realize I could not handle being at the school full time. A few situations stand out:

• the student handing me a questionable looking note from his dad excusing him for a "docter's appointment"
• the girl who wanted to know if you can still get excused for going to DMV if you fail the driver's test 3 times
  
• the student who told me about her recent trip - a 2 hour drive to the Rocky Mountain (we live in NC)
• the boy who wanted a pass to get to class. He went to lunch in error instead of his class. After sitting and eating for 5 minutes he realized he didn't recognize anyone he usually had lunch with and should be in class.
  
• the kids who continuously wanted to go to their car at lunch to "get something". The answer was always "no".
• the boy who never talked. He rapped.

I've learned my job will be filled by a paid person next year. The school is 2 years old. Right now it only has grades 9-11. In the upcoming year, it will have all 4 grades and the budget will allow for a paid position. All things change. Change can be good. I will miss my time there and being in touch with what is going on. Maybe I will do something else at the school. Maybe not.

Room With A View

Since the staycation last summer our master bathroom has been in the process of renovation. We got rid of the big whirlpool tub no one used and opted for a very large walk-in shower. Right now it's functional but not finished so I won't post any pictures. My favorite thing is the view from the shower looking out onto our backyard. There is a little glare because this shot was taken through the glass.

What's Wrong With This Picture (or Map)?

I'm a lot of things but original and creative I am not. I stole this picture from my friend Eugene's facebook post. It was Sunday's weather map in our local newspaper:


If you are not familiar with NC it might look fine. However with the exception of Asheville and Charlotte none of the cities are in the right place.

Here is a correct map. Sorry it isn't larger:


I thought newspapers had editors and proofreaders? The industry has been hit hard in these economic times. Maybe asking the cities be in the proper place on a map is too much.

Friday Adventures

I use to think I wanted to live in the big city especially after I'd go with my husband to visit his hometown in the Washington DC area. Now I realize I am fine where I am in a little town near a larger city. . We were in Charlotte yesterday. The traffic got on my nerves. I can't imagine dealing with that every day. I rode along with my husband for his work. We stopped at the UNC-Charlotte campus. There is a lot of new construction going on. I can't believe I've never been there. I sat in the car while he checked on the job. I watched a funny and totally inappropriate diggNATION on my iPod and snapped a few pictures.

Topsy Turvy Experiment

My husband and daughter had to have one of these Topsy Turvy tomato growers.

It's doing pretty well. This second shot was taken about a week later and I am noticing how it had grown. I'm going the traditional route with my plants. You can look at it as a competition but if they all produce, we all win.

Help - I Need a Name

I really regret I did not look into getting SouthernSuburbia.com back in the day. It's taken. I am considering moving my blog because I love to waste time doing such. Blogger can limiting. I'm trying to think of a new name such as (something)SouthernSuburbia.com or SouthernSuburbia(something).com. SouthernSuburbia is already pretty long so I don't want to add a lot more. My many, many readers do you have an idea?
Speaking of wasting time, I spent several hours trying to import this blog to Square Space for their 14 day trial. I had heard good things about them. I'll give them credit for quick customer service response. I like the way their templates had drag and drop features for little changes. The downside was I could never get the dang thing imported and I wasn't thrilled with their templates. At $8 a month to have a Square Space blog, I don't want to pay someone else (since I don't have any talented friends) to re-design my blog. Turns out I started thinking about the whole dot com scenario and make go in a different direction anyway.
Again if you have name suggestions and also blogging services you'd like to recommend, I am all ears.

UPDATE: NAME CHANGED! Southern Suburbia becomes Life in Southern Suburbia.

Little House in the Mountains

In March, Laura (one of my best friends going back to our college days) and I visited the Biltmore House. It is the largest private residence in the United States - home of George and Edith Vanderbilt completed in 1895. It wasn't even their main home! Though it is about 2 1/2 hours from my house, this was only the 2nd time I had visited Biltmore.

The front yard:

The greenhouse:

The Return

Yes I'm back. I didn't say "never". Actually I put a lot of thought into returning. Probably more thought than I should. It's just a blog - right? Well it's also a 3 year relationship for me. I know blogging isn't as popular as it use to be. I realize twitter and facebook killed blogging. So now what? I may not have as many followers as I did in the heyday. I don't care if I have none or just one. For me, blogging isn't as much about socializing or communication as it once was. I tweet and post in facebook a lot for those kinda things. I'm not linking my other social media accounts here but if you are interested contact me at ASUjoan@yahoo.com.

So what's happened since January 30th? A lot and not much. We are winding down the school year. My daughter absolutely loves being a middle schooler. My son got his license in February. It is both scary and very helpful. My husband and I work and try our best to keep up with the kids and the house. 'Can't forget Chloe. She's celebrated her 2nd birthday. I almost forgot it until her mother LuLu and Katie Bonk reminded me.

I'm attempting a garden again after a not so successful go at it last year. The square foot garden:

Looking down off the deck at hostas, herbs and mint (or is mint an herb?)

More to follow.