A Day in the Life of a Master(s) of Education

Amanda: Hey, there is a 4k in Atlanta that involves beer stations and drinking......you in? Moe: When? Amanda: November 16. Moe: I'll be in VA. Amanda: There's one in Orlando on December 15. Moe: I'm in....and so is Jim. And thus here we are Blogger World. I am not sure who came up with this idea of a fun run with beer in addition to water but they deserve a medal themselves. Jim left Amanda and I to actually run....he didn't get the memo to not take this "run" too seriously. Anyways after he left us...Amanda and I took every opportunity to take pics, wave at people in cars, have fun and of course chug beer at all 4 Chug Stations :-). It took us 50mins to run a little over 2 miles but we only actually ran whenever we could see a beer chug station. Check out the photos including our finishers medal (which is actually a bottle opener...score!!) and if it comes to your city....DO IT!!!!!! We liked it so much...we may even do it again in my hometow...

Good Morning Blogger World!! So I am currently in Otown with Jim & LJ visiting Amanda and Jarrod for my Bday weekend or as I refer to it: the 25th Anniversary of My Appearance on Earth. It's official I can rent a car in all 50 states and my car insurance rates will now start to decrease. Wahoo! 25 was definitely a good one....I am happy in my career, my love life is on track, I have great friends and an alright dog. This is feeling like a steady incline if I do say so myself. On my actual birthday (Thursday) it was all about Dave & Busters (well only because my first choice was a failure) and we had a great time. I tried to beat everyone on the Midway but that was not the case. Alas it didn't matter because I looked good, ate a cupcake or two and had a great time with people I kinda like a whole lot. Anyways while at Disney I took advantage of checking out the New Fantasyland (or at least the parts that were open) and wouldn't you know it....I got celeb sighting nu...

So since I have acquired a boyfriend recently who loves to cook, I have felt the need to improve in the kitchen. For those of you in the Blogger World that don't know me all that well...I HATE TO COOK. However I also believe in an equal relationship so since he loves it so much I have been really putting effort into cooking more. Allreceipes.com has been a God send, most of the receipes are pretty easy to follow and don't make me feel like a total idiot in the kitchen. The other day at the garden we got rid of a bunch of pumpkins so I decided to take some home and cook something. The question was what though....after searching for a little while through the gazillion pumpkin receipes found at this time of year I found a "Pumkin Fritter" receipe in which I could use things I already had in my very limited pantry AND use the deep fryer I got 2 years ago and have moved to 3 different apartments but have never used. Bonus!! With a little help from Amanda (who is visiting ...

Fall has always been my favorite season...mainly b/c I was born in the Fall but it has other things going for it too. I love the changing of the leaves, the brisk evenings, sweaters, boots and a reason to eat and drink everything pumkin flavored. I just enjoy it all!! Living in GA is awesome because I have the unique opportunity to enjoy all of the things that make the season... something I took for granted in VA and missed terribly in FL. Growing up I always wanted to go to a corn maze but they were never around. We went to the pumpkin patch but never the maize (lol!). This year as apart of my "give Atlanta a chance" movement I decide to finally take advantage of the chance to get lost in ears of corn. An hour OTP ( Cagle's Family Farm ) later Jim and I were roaming like children...and since we were there we also did a hayride, petting zoo, fried pies and pumpkin picking. Overall a pretty great Autumn day.

1) Pregaming at your apartment 2) Free Drinks 3) Dancing until you break your shoes 4) Outfit switchroos 5) Tons of compliments 6) Meeting new friends 7) Losing your voice 8) New and unexpected experiences All of these events made my Halloween night of partying a blast! Happy Day of the Dead and now begins the official birthday countdown. Until my voice comes back....laters

As my second favorite holiday it is only expected for me to go all out!! In addition Amanda has come to ATL to visit. We are hitting all my fave spots in Midtown. So here we come Richard's, Blakes & Burkharts!! And to the Blogger world....Happy Halloween from Medusa....aka me!!

Last weekend I was amongst my people, partyin' and bull*+#& (Shout out to Rita Ora for performing)!!!! Growing up I was always told that "gay is bad" but then I met and fell in love with my Jonnie Bear. Though I was mad at him in the beginning b/c he and I liked the same guy, I soon realized that our similar taste in men meant that we probably had many other similar interest. When I chose to explore it, I gained one of my bestest friends in the world. I wouldn't trade Jonathan Martin for anybody on anyday for anything!! He is the reason I have attended Pride here in Atlanta every year since I've been here and contribute through out the year toward gay rights and initives. After all the crap I have been through in my life it pales in comparison to what the community as a whole has been through and thus we are bonded through our struggles and triumphs. I may not be doing a great job getting my feelings captured in print form but I hope that at least my love do...

So I was eating lunch at work yesterday when there was a slight commotion. Usually when things like this happen in the garden it's my cue to head in the opposite direction. This time however my lunch of Turkey and Apple Chutney on White kept me in my seat. It's a good thing too because I scored a celeb sighting! This is a major one in certain circles, a minor in others and a nonexistent in still more. Alas the build up has come to it's peak. Yesterday I saw Vern Yip of HGTV fame. He just redesigned our MetroFresh Cafe seating area. I don't love it yet....but it also isn't totally finished yet so I am reserving my judgment (keyword in that sentence: YET). Other than Mr. Yip (hahahaha for some reason he doesn't come off as a "Mr." so it's a bit humorous to me) visiting I've got nothing really special to share with you all. September has just been a month full of work deadlines and commitments and pressure so I am just keeping low to the ground a...

This past weekend was pretty exciting for me I must say. I have lived in this city for over 2 years (wow! Where did the time go?) and had not done a few things on my ATL bucket list. So I took it upon myself to check off a few. I attended Rainbow Days @ Six Flags Over Georgia!! (check) It was pretty empty for some odd reason so I was able to ride every coaster (check) and I got to see another celeb(check). This time it was Evander Holifield, former heavy weight boxer best known for being the guy who got his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson (cocaine is one hell of a drug). He looked pretty good and very nonchalant. In fact the only reason I recognized him readily was because there was a recent post about him on my fave ATL blog/gossip/info page Straight from the A . I also got to check out some Looney Tunes characters which was pretty cool seeing as I kinda have an intimate connection with that kind of thing...wink wink. I've added some photos for your viewing pleasure and that's al...

Waddup Blogger World! So as many of you know, my parents have come to Atlanta for a visit to which I have been affectionately refering to as "Hurricane Hemmings". I love my parents dearly but they are stressful and tiring. The other night at dinner I had a revelation as to why that is. One parent can't hear and the other parent just doesn't listen. It was an eye opening experience and ever since then I have been much more relaxed on this visit. So what's on the agenda you ask...I'm glad you did! If I keep them busy they are less likely to annoy the ever loving life out of me. We will be going to The World Of Coca-Cola , Centennial Olympic Park , Mary Mac's Tea Room , The Atlanta Botanical Garden , Stone Mountain Park, Atlantic Station and a few other stops here and there. I'm cramming a lot into a 4 day visit but again I cannot stress enough how this is my version of "batting down the hatches" for this hurricane. Hopefully I will survive, bu...

What takes over my life for two weeks every four years? The Summer Olympics of course! I love the Olympics b/c of the spirit behind it. To me (and I think the rest of the world too) the olympics are about being on an even playing field and universal commadarie. For two weeks every four years we set aside our wars and our differences and just try make our countrymen proud. In addition most of the athletes are amped to meet and compete against their idols or people who are generally important to their respective sport. This year was especially awesome for me because this is the first Olympics in history (thirty games thus far) where every country has sent a woman delegate. Keep making strides world!!!! So being Jamaican I generally always watch the track and field events if nothing elses,this year I decided I was going to watch as much of the televised events as I possibly could. Its been pretty cool because I think I have seen just about every event from Judo to Shooting to Archery to ...

So I just came from a trip home to DC which turned out to be a working vacation. I spent 3 of my 5 days there attending the National Children & Youth Garden Symposium which is all about getting kids interested and active with the outdoor environment. Works out pretty well when you are the Horticulturist of a Children's Garden (i.e. me). It was fun, informative and interesting but not my reason for blogging today. I was talking to a friend who lives in DC about what's been going on in my life and they were saying that they use my blog (since I don't do any other form of social media) as a way to keep update on my goings on. During the course of the conversation she asked "What ever happened to the photo of the beer drinking dog?", to which I responded "oops". Turns out I never did post that photo from my Cali trip about 2 summers ago. All together now...say it with me...FAIL!! I have no real reason as to why it has taken me so long other than the fa...

So as you know blogger world, I have been traveling to Orlando a lot recently. Usually when I head down there it's mostly Disney business mixed with Orlando pleasure. My former roommate Amanda had the same realization about Orlando I had about Atlanta....if you are going to make this new city your home, explore it and give it a fair chance. So she made an "Orlando Bucket List" and you guys know how I love bucket list. I've got about 4 going right now! Anyhow she shared one thing on her list with me this past weekend and in doing so made me realize I never really gave Otown a fighting chance. As far as I was concerned if it wasn't Disney or DC it wasn't worth it. I say all of this to say....Orlando is not that bad. It's still a tourist trap and it's still a city lacking a definitive identity outside of the theme parks but it's trying to be more. Since Orlando is trying so will I....even though I no longer live there. For Amanda and myself I ...

So yesterday at ABG we had a film shoot that I actually cared about. In the last couple of months we've had a reality show, independent movies and a couple of dramas all film at the garden. I've never really been all that interested...until yesterday. I religously watch Drop Dead Diva on Sunday nights except when I'm on the road, then I watch it Monday night On Demand. So you've probably guessed by now, that's who was filming yesterday in the Garden. Since I'm pretty much the only person at the Garden that watches no one else really cared but they all made allowances so I could be near the crew whilst still being professional. I mean they do not pay me to gawk they pay me to keep the plants alive...which I did....as I watched the crew and the actors. My team helped me out too by pretty much delgating anything that the crew need outside to me. If they needed a water key, I was on it. If they needed a tree trimmed, I pulled out my pruners. If they needed some plan...

This new song by rapper Wiz Khalifa "Work Hard, Play Hard" has a verse that pretty much summarizes my life and related goals. I have liked Wiz for a while but sometimes have a hard time listening to his non-radio cuts. I like his mixtapes but being a girl I got to be in the right mindset otherwise it's a little manly and not enough "poppy". This song is on his latest studio album and I would swaer on the Bible that he wrote it for me. I love the whole song and the hook is nice, but when I heard the last verse I was sold. So what are these lyrics you wonder? Here you go freshly stolen from the internet: Go hard, make sure you do it everyday It's what you gotta do That's your job And n-gga's gone hate, but that's no prob So hey, f-ck 'em, don't need nothing from 'em So n-ggas talking, but the sh-t they claiming Don't mean nothing Now on to the chorus and hook: The bigger the bill The harder you ball Well I'm t...

So a girlfriend of mine who abandoned me and moved to Rhode Island (do black people live there?) came down this weekend for a visit. She had the genius idea to head to a place called "Sips & Strokes". The concept isn't new but I loved it nonetheless. I have never thought that I was the most artistic person but you would have fooled me once you glazed upon the final product. I even think that the painting got better every time I had another glass of wine. I would definately do again...can I get a whoop whoop for pint size picasso!!

Last night I was faced with an issue that I didn't quite know how to handle. You can zip your lips now blogger world...the shock of me not being able handle something will pass. Anyways back to the dilema I faced. On Tuesdays I usually play group trivia with my friends. We don't really have a set team, people float in and float out. Last night a guy floated in.....he was pretty knowledgeable and funny so we had a great time there. I went to the bathroom and when I came back the check had been paid. Hmmmmm I let it go and thus we moved on to the next spot, a local "strip" (I use that term as loosely as the strippers breast hang and morals are) club called The Claremont Lounge. Before we got there I had to get some gas, and while I was digging around for my debit card he paid for my gas. Ok really? Finally we get to the Claremont and while there drinks were flowing and so was the money. The dilema you ask? When do you close a gift horses' mouth? I just met the guy a...

So yesterday Atlanta hosted the Red Bull Soapbox Race for the second time (previously held here in 2009). Oh and what a race it was! Before yesterday my only soapbox "experience" was watching the most recent "The Little Rascals" remake about 15 years ago. Nonetheless that little (pun intended) taste was enough to get me intrigued about yesterdays extravaganza. So at about 10 am yesterday I gathered my Jimmy and some refreshments and headed to Piedmont Park for some suntanning and some man powered fun. Highlights of the day: 1) Picking the winner 2) Eye Candy 3) Seeing my Wesley at Metrofresh 4) Watching a very drunk guy do backflips 5) Cute EMT at the First Aid Tent 6) Meeting some of the racers and the Red Bull Girls 7) Clouds and wind throughout the sunny day 8) My tan that lasted about 5mins after about 6 hours in the sun 9) Chocolate Sea Salt Popsicle courtesy of King of Pops 10) Free event 11) Sexual innuendo at a family event Lowlight...

Many people know about Brazil's Carnivale, a few celebrate Mardi Gras in Nawlins but when it comes to partying till the sun comes up and dancing in the streets? It's a caribbean thing!! Every year in the beginning of summer Jamaica, Dominica, Trinidad & Tobago, Virgin Islands and plenty more celebrate Carnival. Not only that but we bring it to the countries where we live and thus DC, New York, Toronto and Atlanta all have their own Carnivals. There are parades and mountains of food, dancing plus music for days. Even though Soca music rules the roost, there is plenty of dancehall, reggae, reggaeton and more to go around. If you don't like fun and good vibes.....don't come to carnival!!! My favorite part is usually the food...there is always plenty and I get to eat food that is common to most islands like plantains and food that is a little more "Jamaican" like ackee (a fruit that looks like scrammbled eggs when cooked but has a little bit of a blander flavo...