Tuesday, December 4, 2007

It never rains in southern California...



I traveled to San Diego, CA last weekend to attend the National Council for the Social Studies annual conference, or as Andrew likes to call it "the giant social studies fair." The conference is always a great chance to talk with other educators to find out what's going on in the field, and the keynote speaker is always excellent. This year's speaker was the highlight of my conference experience -- none other than Sandra Day O'Connor! Not only was the first female Supreme Court justice incredibly intelligent about a vast array of diverse subjects, but she was also super funny! Wow.

Andrew came with me this year since the conference fell on my 30th birthday, and after fixing an incorrect flight itinerary we had a really great time together. It allegedly never rains in San Diego, but we got soaked on our first day there. So... we spent the day inside the Natural History Museum where we saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. So amazing. Spent most of Saturday on a day bus trip to Tijuana (only 30 minutes over the border) -- pretty cheesy and not truly representative of Mexico, but fun nonetheless. We had some delicious homemade tortillas and guacamole, bought some souvenirs, and had our picture taken with a street "zonkey." Crossing back across the border was a scary and intimidating experience, especially since flashes of Babel were running through my mind, but we made it back safely. I went to the San Diego Zoo on Sunday after Andrew went home and it was truly stunning; I think it's probably ruined all future zoo excursions for me! So nice to spend a whole day outside enjoying the fresh air, beautiful scenery, and the famous pandas.

Monday, December 3, 2007

We going to the 'ship!

What a crazy year of being a college football fan! I woke up this morning to find out that LSU is ranked #2 after winning the SEC Championship game, and that means we're going to the BCS National Championship game in New Orleans! Check out the team's ecstatic reaction to the good news below. It's ghetto fabulous and I love it. GEAUX TIGERS!!!