Hacked!

Well, my debit card was hacked by someone who loves to bike.  Marcus and I both were surprised when we looked at our online banking statement and found $750.00 worth of pending charges to an online biking store.  We’ve disputed it and in two days we should have a return on our claim.  (We’re pretty sure it’s all going to work out, but we’ll definitely be relieved once we’ve received the investigator’s response.)  Anyway, I’m hoping that it will all be cleared up by Friday so it’s not on our minds during the Fourth of July weekend.

For the Fourth of July we’ll be at my Aunt Linda’s with the rest of my family for a cookout and splashing around in the pool.  It’s tradition, as my little cousin, Justice, would say.  Marcus and I are hopefully headed over to Melbourne sometime this evening.  It’ll be nice to have a long weekend . . . a sort of mini-vacation, if you will.  We’re looking forward to it.

Before Bed Broadcast

Teaching has many rewarding facets, including the two month summer vacation.  I’ve got to say, I’m enjoying it!  On Saturday I was able to spend a crazy fun, but super exhausting day at Disney with my family without thinking about the repercussions my physical exertion would have on my work week.  On Sunday, Marcus and I got to sleep in and were able to see Bob, Kate, and Justice off before we went to church in the evening.  Afterward we decided to go see Transformers with our friends, Robyn and Doug, which I definitely wouldn’t have been up for had a lesson plan been slated for the next day!  And today, well today I relaxed, recharged, and had a perfectly lazy Monday.

I actually have a few chores on schedule for tomorrow and I’m committed to accomplishing them.  Even though the house was clean on Friday, it’s in need of some work after two days of company.  I also need to sit down and write out a summer to-do list of things that I’d like to finish before the start of the next school year.  I like being productive.  I just do.

Amazingly enough, I cleaned out most of the garage before heading out to Seattle, so besides taking a few boxes of things to Goodwill, operation garage clean-out is mostly completed.  Now, I just have to tackle the rest of the house and the yard. . .

Here is a sampling of my summer to-do list:

Go through the closets and clear out anything that we do not use anymore by donating it or throwing it away!

Touch up paint a few areas in the house

Trrryyyy to fix up the yard . . . this one will be tough . . . I love the outdoors, but yard work is not my favorite

Update the pictures in the picture frames around the house

Of course, not everything on my summer to-do list is chore related . . . I also have a few fun things listed as well:

Re-read the four books I assigned for my students’ summer reading project and create four new tests

Read books that I want to read . . . just finished Marley and Me, soon will begin Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Enjoy a weekend at Palm Coast with friends

Spend time at the beach

Share a few hot dates with my Babes

As I said, teaching has many rewarding facets, and the two month summer vacation is definitely listed somewhere in my favorite top ten.

Home Sweet Home

It’s so good to be home!  While I wouldn’t change the wonderful time I had in Washington and Cali, I must say that after two weeks away, little things like grocery shopping with Marcus have a fresh feel to them.

I’m still adjusting back to the eastern time zone and am hoping to feel somewhat back to normal this weekend.  We’ll just see though.

My final two days in Seattle were good ones, despite my homesickness and extreme frustration with the flight load situation.  The night that I wasn’t able to board my original flight, Sara, Warren, and I went and saw “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare.  The company putting on the production was super talented.  During the rest of the “unable to fly standby” weekend, Warren made sure we hit up the Experience Music Project and Sci-Fi Museum where the Jim Henson Experience was on display.  (It’s on loan from the Smithsonian.)  We also did some great shopping because he’s pretty keen on the best shopping malls.  If you’re ever in Seattle and want a nice shopping exerience, head out to University Village and make sure to stop by Trophy Cupcakes!

Since being home, I haven’t been very busy which has been nice.  Marcus had today off from work, so we were able to sleep in, relax, and relish in the company of one another.  I’m happy to be back in the arms of my husband.  He has the next few days off and I’m looking forward to simply being together.  Just like the Jack Johnson song, it’s always better when we’re together.

San Francisco Treat!

Sara and I had an unforgettably fabulous time in San Francisco.  Even the drive into the city added to the sweetness of the day.  Since San Fran is about a two hour drive from Sacramento, Sara and I turned up the tunes on the radio and sang along like we were sixteen years old and back in high school.  We had a blast.  On the way, we stopped at Ikedas Country Market and picked up some fruit to-go and continued to enjoy the varying scenery of California.  Seriously, California’s landscapes cover everything from beaches, to rolling hills, to flat plains, to acres and acres of sunflowers.  It’s just gorgeous.

San Francisco is Sara’s favorite city and she was pretty excited to take me to all her favorite places.  We began the day at the Fisherman’s Wharf where we parked for the day and walked down to Pier 39 so she could introduce me to the wild sea lions that lounge and play by the docks.  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I was definitely impressed by the many, many sea lions out and about swimming and sunning.  They’re very entertaining to watch, especially in their element.  They’re stinky, noisy, and (at times) kind of violent, but they’re also quite comical and quirky.  We saw tiny baby sea lions that we could carry in our arms and mammoth sized sea lions that were probably six or seven times our size.  Watching animals that are free and not in captivity is cool.  There is definietly something special about it.

After Pier 39, we went to the Musee Mechanique which is an antique coin operated arcade and museum full of antique coin machines from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  They still operate and as long as you have a handful of dimes and quarters, you can bring them to life.  They self playing pianos were my favorite and had I been thinking, I would have recorded one in action.  They were super fun.  The museum is now owned and run by the son of the original owner, who spent his life purchasing and trading antique coin machines.

For lunch, we shared a bread bowl of clam chowder at Boudin’s Sourdough Factory and walked along more of the Fisherman’s Wharf where the food vendors did their best to entice us with their fresh fish, shrimp, and crab.  Sara also made sure that the famous Bush Man got a good scream from me.  I freaked out!  According to Sara, he’s been scaring people since she was a little girl.  He actually had to do some jail time because of his scare work, but the city of San Fran came to his aid and he is now a permitted scarer of tourists who walk near the wharf.

Content with our chowder, but itching for a sweet, we took a walk to Ghiradelli Square where they offer chocolate samples in abundance.  We had a few peanut butter chocolate squares before accidentally stumbling upon The Crown and Crumpet, a gloriously cute tea room that is draped in sweet and delicate femininity.  Because Sara knows how much I love tea, she and I sat down to an afternoon tea time complete with crumpets, scones and two pots of tea.  We ooh-ed and aah-ed over the all the fine details of the shop including complimentary honey spoons and colored sugar cubes shaped like crowns, roses, and teapots.  It is absolutely a darling place that I look forward to visiting again one day!

After tea, we went back to the wharf to buy our Trolley Car (cable car) tickets.  The lines for the cable cars were very long, so we took our tickets and decided to walk to the cable car stop at Lombard Street.  Sara did not forewarn me that the walk to Lombard Street was extremely steep and extremely long.  Seriously, I had to stop a few times.  The street is very steep. ( I would fear for anyone who lost their balance because they would be rolling backwards for a very long time and they’d probably be pretty banged up.)  Once we finally reached Lombard, I will admit, I found it pretty neat.  I took a few pictures and then got excited for our cable car ride through San Francisco.

After exploring the sites by cable car, we stopped in the shopping district and began our walk to The Orpheum Theater where we were planning to try our luck at the lottery for Wicked tickets.  The theater only had $90 seats available for purchase and were selling side-view orchestra seats for $25 a piece via lottery system at 6pm.  There were 10 sets (two tickets per set) available through the lottery.  Sara and I entered our names in the drawing and then walked around near the United Nations Building and picked up some cash (in case we won) as waited for 6pm.  Sara and I didn’t want to get our hopes up because there were A LOT of people entering the lottery, so we told ourselves that there were plenty of fun evening things to do in Seattle if we didn’t win.

Well, 6pm rolled around and the lottery drawing began . . . the first name was called (no screaming, no celebrating), the second name is called (timid person walks up to claim his tickets), the third name is called (mild celebrating . . .), and then . . . my name is called!!!  Woooo!  You would have thought someone had told me I had just been given a million dollars.  I flipped out.  “EEEEEEeeeeeeee!!  I’m from Florida!  I’m from Florida!  I’ve wanted to see this show for over two years!  Ahhhh!”   It was completely ridiculous.  I think Sara may have even told me to shut-up, even though she had happy tears.  I can’t describe to you my excitement.  I was so excited.  Sara was excited too, but I don’t think she was excited as I.

Wicked was incredible.  Teal Wicks is amazing.  Of course, I love Idina Menzel, but Teal finally gave me a living, breathing Elphaba to the songs on my soundtrack and the terrible quality YouTube videos that I’ve watched.  (Yes, I listen to musical soundtracks and watch portions of illegally recorded Broadway musicals on Youtube . . . . I am a geek.)  It was a breathtaking experience and sharing it with Sara was bliss.  We even met the cast afterward, along with the Academy Award winning, three time Emmy winning Patty Duke who played Madame Morrible in the show.  How cool is that?

Walking back through San Francisco in the middle of the night, however, was not bliss nor was it very cool.  I really love all types of people, but there were really tough looking guys out that scared me much worse than the Bush Man down by the wharf.  Sara said my walk was more like a sprint and she has to jog to keep up with me as I made my way as quickly as possible back to the Trolley Car stop.  Once we were back on the cable car, I took a breather and enjoyed the evening air of San Francisco.

Back in the car, we decided to take a drive down Lombard Street and then over to the Golden Gate Bridge.  I didn’t get very good pictures, but I enjoyed getting to see it up close before heading back to Sacramento.

Our drive back consisted of an early morning stop for gas and making ourselves stay awake by searching for good songs on the radio.  Thankfully, we made it safely back to Sacramento.

It was a perfectly exhausting, perfectly full, perfectly lovely day with my sweet Sara.  I am glad we got to share it together.

We Interrupt the Regularly Scheduled Program . . .

My time in San Francisco will be written at another time . . . I’m much too flustered to credibly account the lovely time I had there.

Flying stand-by normally has been good to me.  I’ve gotten to fly back and forth from Seattle quite economically and have had relatively little to no problems with flights and flight schedules.  . . however, I find myself stuck in Seattle and close to the breaking point.

Since the school year let out, I’ve been home for two days and the on the second day, I was not even there for the full 24-hours.  In the evening, I boarded a plane - in tears - saddened to leave my husband for two weeks, but looking forward to celebrating my sweet Sara’s Bridal Shower.

Now, two weeks later, I’m completely tuckered out with only the clothes on my back (my luggage got to go to Florida, but not me) and have spent the last night - and part of this day - in tears.  Selfish, I know.  I’m not proud of my reaction and know that there is hardly justification to it.  There are so many more people out there with much worse problems than being stuck in a city, but truly, I’m just so ready to go home.

Standby lists have been super long and I didn’t make the morning flight because other stand-by passengers had seniority over me.  Tonight’s flight is not looking great, but I’m still trying for it, even though it looks doubtful.  Each flight that I miss earns me a fraction of possibility for the next one and I’m holding out for whatever I can get at this point.  I’m still in tears.  I miss my husband.  You don’t get your days back.  I was supposed to be home this morning.

Please don’t think that this tarnishes my time here.  It’s just incredibly frustrating right now.  When I’m finally home, I will recall my time with joy and will continue writing about my wonderful adventures on the West Coast.

I’m looking forward to finally beginning my Florida summer vacation.  I’m hoping for a miracle at the airport tonight.

California

Sara and I arrived in Sacramento, California last Monday evening.  Her dad had left us a car before boarding his flight to Orlando for a speaking engagement.  Before heading to her family’s home, we visited with her grandparents who live near the Sacramento airport.  The home of Pastor Nuckoll’s (Sara’s mom’s maiden name) and his wife is simply fairy tale.  Each room of their home has been uniquely designed by Sara’s grandfather with everything from spiral staircases, handcrafted stained glass windows, and Ichthus fishes placed strategically in the filing and carved into the relief of the stone basins.  After a nice visit, we picked up Sara’s little sister, Nicole, who was also coming in that night at the train station and we headed for the beautiful two story home of the  Burkes Family.

Our first day in California was spent not in Sacramento, but rather in El Dorado National Forest (near Placerville) where Sara and Warren’s wedding will be held.  The El Dorado National Forest took my breath away and I definitely caught a glimpse of Sara’s vision for her Big Day.  Her family has rented a huge cabin in the National Forest where her Wedding Party will lodge before and after her nuptials.  In addition to the cabin, they’re also renting large and lovely white tents and Sara and Warren’s wedding reception will take place right amidst the great outdoors.

After checking out the wedding site along with local caterers (Sara’s still trying to select one) we headed to Old Placerville before heading home.  We stopped a tried some ice-cream at a local ice-cream parlor and walked up and down browsing the historic shop windows before calling it a day and heading toward the Burkes’ home.

On Wednesday Sara and I headed to Old Sacramento where Sara shared with me the nostalgia of early 1850’s Gold Rush and showed me some of her favorite old fashioned shops.  Each shop has its own hand painted sign and the signs are as individual as the shops themselves.  I think the signs are just darling and I am puzzled about whether or not one artist does the work or whether  it is shared because while the signs are each unique, they maintain a sense of uniformity that ties the little shops of Old Sacramento together.

While we were there we sampled several different salt water taffys where candies overflowed out of giant wooden barrels, were amused by the delights and wares of sassy Evangeline’s, and each had a delicious burger at the famous Fanny Anne’s Saloon.

In the afternoon, we bid farewell to Old Sacramento and went to Sara’s dress fitting appointment where I finally got to see her in her beautiful wedding gown.  (Warren is going to be knocked off his feet when he sees bride!)  After some pinning, measuring, and plans for altering, Sara and I stopped by a Starbucks and the local post office before checking out the neighborhood of the “fabulous 40’s” where each address begins in the forties and the homes are known for their grandeur.  One of Sara’s favorite things is scoping out the architecture and design of each residence.
I definitely found a few that I deemed impressive, including a particularly lovely brick home that fits my definition of “dream home” in every respect.

Our evening included a visit to the grounds of California’s Capitol Building before sharing a relaxed dinner with Sara’s mom at the Burkes’ home.  Over our meal of apricot stuffed chicken, we cheered Sara’s dad’s successful speaking engagement in Florida where over 1,000 people come to hear him speak in the course of two days!  (Check out his book, No Small Miracles, at thechaplain.net)

On Thursday we went to the wonderful city of San Francisco.  Our time there merits a separate post which will be written soon.  Stay tuned!

City Girl

Those that know me, know that I do not venture off on my own very often.  In college, Marcus and I were inseparable and since being married, he and I are still the dynamic duo.  Before Marcus, I had friends who accompanied me on my teenage adventures of pseudo freedom.

In short, I don’t particularly like being left alone.  Do I need time to myself every now and then?  Of course, who doesn’t?  But, I can read a book quietly on the couch while my husband does work on his laptop and in my mind, that is the perfect definition of time to myself.

Anyway, during my time in Seattle I have discovered that I am capable of doing things on my own, even if they did scare me a bit at first.  Since last Sunday I have:

- Flew on a plane across the country all on my own.

- Made my way up and down Broadway, people watching and browsing, with a cell phone as my only company

- Boarded a city bus, walked for over seven blocks, and made it downtown to worship with fellow Jesus loving Seattle-ites.

Am I surprised by this side of myself?  A little.  Am I slightly pleased?  A bit.   It’s always encouraging when people discover that they’re more capable than they may at first have realized.

Please don’t be mistaken, however, being with people is still my favorite way to be.  I am built for bonding and it’s what I enjoy the most.  And I still miss, miss, miss my husband and can’t wait until I am with him again.  I love you, Babes.

Until then, Sara and I are off to California.  New adventures await!

One Week in Seattle

My time in Seattle has been a lively whirlwind of activity, to say the least.  It’s definitely been busy, but ultimately fabulous, as life in this city only can be.

On the night of my arrival my closest girl friend, Sara, (according to my tween students, Sara is my “bestie”.  Our language evolvement is so interesting.  When I hear the word “bestie”, all I can think of is “beasty” and I definitely don’t associate beasts with friends on a regular basis. . . )  accidentally locked her keys in her house.  She and Jess (her good friend and bridesmaid from Minnesota) had picked me up in Jess’s rental car, hence, the no house key situation.  She, Jess, and I had to walk to the QVC on Broadway and kill time walking through the 24-hour grocery and random goods store while we waited for Sara’s fiancee, Warren, to get off from work at the airport.  Thankfully, Broadway is about a one minute walk from Sara and Warren’s home on Capitol Hill.

After my late Sunday evening perusing the grocery store with Sara and Jess, it was nice to finally get some rest - even if my rest had a sense of restlessness to it.  (Falling asleep without Marcus isn’t easy for me!)  Eventually, I drifted off to a deeper dreamland before waking at the crack of dawn (thank you, three-hour-time difference), ready to start my second consecutive summer vay-cay in Seattle.

On Monday Sara, Jess, and I went for a leisurely stroll around Pike’s Place Market and took in several of the same sights and sounds that I so fondly remembered from last summer. New to the list of experiences, however, were the edible delights of  Uli’s Famous Sausages and Chukar Cherries.  I’ve never really been a huge fan of ground meat shoved into a mysterious clear encasement, but I must say, the savory sausage we sampled was pretty good.  (And I definitely think the Uli Sausage guy has a thing for Jess!)  Chukar Cherries are a delightful Washington secret that more people need to discover.  Seriously, so delicious.  Visit their website:  http://www.chukar.com/

That evening,  Sara treated us to her homemade California rolls and managed to get all of us to try our own hand at rolling sushi.  In addition we were also joined by our old friend and fellow Satellite High Alum, Warren Kagarise, who brought wit, clever conversation and, of all things, Twitter to the dinner table.  Thanks to his saavy tech-skills and chic iPhone, I am now a part of the micro-blogging internet craze.

On Wednesday, I tried to sleep in, but again, the time zone difference just wouldn’t have it.  Sara and I went for a visit to Pioneer’s Square while Jess went on job interviews.  (Jess plans on moving back to Seattle very soon.)
I really wanted to see Magic Mouse Toys and have a chocolate chip cookie at Cow Chip’s again.  I also drank ANOTHER cup of coffee at ANOTHER eclectic and adorable coffee shop.  (I haven’t yet written about it, but I’ve had much too much coffee since being in Seattle . . . )

In the afternoon, we hit up the craft stores near the mall because Sara’s wedding invitations are incredibly involved.  I’m talking ribbon, vellum, and premium card-stock held together by golden eyelets.  Each handcrafted invitation is a labor of love.  She worked with Warren’s friend (who just so happens to be a graphic designer), Kira, to come up with the gorgeous design and unique presentation.

We had tacos at a great local spot (I can’t recall the name) and ice-cream at Molly Moon’s for dinner.   http://www.mollymoonicecream.com/ If you ever visit Seattle, you need to go to Molly Moon’s.  The ice-cream is superb.  I hope that I get a chance to go back before heading to California!

In the evening, we visited  Sara’s soon-t0-be-mother-in-law, Karen, and checked out the Cabana Room where the Shower would be held.  The room just so happened to be surrounded by a beautiful lake and garden which fit our elegant nature decorative theme perfectly.

On Thursday, my body finally decided that it wanted to sleep-in which was nice.  Sara, Jess, and I were glad to re-energize and spent the day baking, cooking, and prepping for Sara’s Bridal Shower.  While it’s usually the bridesmaids’ jobs to make sure the bride doesn’t do much of anything for her own parties, this is nearly impossible for Sara and she had to be a part of the process.  You can’t keep a cook out of the kitchen and she is one incredible cook and quickly whipped up her family’s homemade artichoke spinach dip, fresh salsa, and an entire batch of oatmeal fudge drop cookies.  There is just no stopping her!

That night, two more bridesmaids, Ruth and Kira, flew in for the Bridal Shower.  Ruth is Sara’s best friend from college and Kira is Warren’s good friend who helped design the wedding invitations.  Having four of the five bridesmaids together was like establishing a little Bridal Brigade Team.  We were all joined by one common goal:  Make sure that Sara has the best Bridal Shower possible!

I’m thankful for the powers of the digital camera, because Friday came and went in flash.  The bridesmaids were out the door by 9:30am and from then until 1pm, we were all working on elements of the Bridal Shower.  Each minute leading up to 1pm was spent either getting the room ready, the food ready, or ourselves ready.  Sara’s mom, Becky, arrived at 10am and also joined in the preparations.  Her sunflower cupcakes were sooo cute and she also brought along her yummy homemade flower cookies.  By the time 1pm rolled around, everything looked lovely and the shower went off without a hitch.  Sara was given great gifts - some made her ooohhh and aahhh, some made her blush, some made her laugh,  and some made her cry.  Her mom made her the sweetest family recipe scrapbook.

After the Bridal Shower, the bride and bridesmaids were completely wiped out and we joined the mother of the groom for a swim in her condominium’s heated pool.  We all wanted to relax and unwind and the heated pool was exactly what we needed.  Afterward, we headed back to Sara’s, where we all immediately crashed.

Saturday was an incredibly busy day filled with all the sights, smells, and sounds of Pike’s Place Market.  We were joined again by Warren and another friend, Evan, who I know from working at Dragon Court in Orlando during college.  After a full day of shopping and tasting at the Market, Sara and her mom headed back to the house while the bridesmaids along with Warren and Evan headed out to Alki Beach via Water Taxi.  After one too many drinks, hilarious conversation, and a few things better off left unrepeated, we headed back to downtown Seattle.

Sara met up with us close to midnight and our plan was to go dancing . . . . but standing at the entrance of Cowgirls, we remembered that we all were in our mid-twenties and things like cover charges, scantily dressed eighteen year olds, and smoked filled rooms were just no longer that appealing and decided to head back home after a brisk walk back to Pike’s Place.

We decided to call it a night and the bride and bridesmaids went by cab back to the Burkes-Schaefer residence.  After Ruth and Jess printed off their boarding passes for their Sunday flights, they were out.  I followed shortly thereafter.  Unfortunately, however, I ended up waking up way to early on this quiet Sunday morning.  I got to see Ruth and Jess off, which was nice, but I haven’t been able to sleep since and decided to blog about my Seattle adventure so far.

I miss my husband like crazy.  Marcus and I talk on the phone everyday, but it’s just not the same as seeing him everyday.  I’m antsy for his hugs and kisses and the way he makes me laugh.  While staying busy is helpful, I keep wishing he was here to share in all of my Seattle experiences.  Last night he told me that he is not working the weekend that I come home and I’m sooo excited that we’ll have a couple of days together to recuperate from our time apart.

Sara and I leave for California tomorrow.  I’m not sure what is on the agenda for the rest of the day . . .

For those curious, I’ll post pictures once I’m back in Florida.

Mid-Year Point!

Ah, it’s interesting to see that I haven’t written since March 8th, but I promise it’s with good reason!  I’ve been busy.  Also, I’ve kicked it back old school style and have been doing a bit of personal journaling which is good for my soul.  (Writing in a journal also brings me back to my teenage days . . . I have boxes of old journals – from fifth grade all the way through high school graduation!)

Life has been good.  I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of 2009.  Sara and Warren came and visited in March.  We had a blast talking about their wedding and starting to plan some of the details.  It’s going to be a beautiful outdoor ceremony in the middle of a state park in Sacramento, California.  I can’t spill too many details, but all you need to know is that her wedding dress is GORGEOUS!

(photo: Sara and Lisa swimming at Wekiva!)

April came and went in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.  I honestly don’t remember too much of it, except for the fact that I was busy teaching my students poetry and trying ever so hard to make them love it.  Some of my kids are incredibly talented writers.  There were poems that made me laugh and cry – sometimes at the same time.  One of my girls broke me with her poem about her mother’s abandonment and how she still struggles with her mother’s choice to choose another man over her siblings and her father.  It still gets to me when I think about it.

One April highlight was Summit’s Beach Baptism.  So awesome.  There just aren’t words.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day.

May has probably been the best month out of the year so far.  Marcus has gone completely out of his way to make everything in May wonderful for me.  He definitely has made my 25th birthday last all month long! We went canoeing for 8.5 miles, we took my cousin to Disney (thanks to free passes provided by a fantastic friend!), I’ve been to the gym without having to cook dinner (or even think about it – he’s been happy with sandwiches or fixing up something for himself),he’s taken me on wonderful date nights, we’ve been to the movies twice. . . wow, writing it all out makes me realize that it’s been a tad excessive. . . but it really has been wonderful.  This year my birthday really felt like a celebration.  Marcus, along with my incredible family and incredible friends, made it really special for me.

(photo: We’re about to embark on Toy Story Mania!)

School is coming to a close and honestly, I’m thankful for the breather.  I would like to find a summer job, but we’ll see what happens.  I’m leaving for Seattle and then California for close to two weeks and won’t be back until the 19th and 20th.  I’m super excited about Sara’s Bridal Shower!  But, I’m slightly anxious because Marcus and I have never spent that much time apart before!  I know I’m going to miss him!

All praise and thanks to God – I get to keep my job at Arbor Ridge.  I’ll still be teaching eighth grade language arts!  I’m so, so grateful.  My kids’ FCAT scores were STELLAR this year.  I’m so proud of them.   Their scores were 1st in Orange County for Grade 8 FCAT Reading and 2nd for Grade 8 FCAT Writing.  A huge thanks goes to Mr. P (the history teacher at Arbor Ridge) who helped supplement my reading and writing teaching.  The team of teachers I work with (there are four of us – one math teacher, one science teacher, one history teacher, and myself) are just great people.  Arbor Ridge took first all around as top scoring middle school and 1st in Grade 8 FCAT Math.  Seriously, it’s only by the grace of God that I ended up at such an awesome school teaching such amazing kids!  (Don’t get wrong – kids are awesome everywhere!  At all schools!  All over Orange County! )

Well, I’ll close for now.  Marcus and I are trying to update the website and I’m going to attempt to write more, especially with my travels this summer!  Be on the lookout for some changes yet to come!

Run it.

On Saturday, I ran a 5K with my friend, Robyn.  We made a weekend of it and stayed overnight near Epcot, so that we’d be near Disney for the morning of the race.  (The 5K was one part of the Disney Princess ½ Marathon Weekend.)  After a fun evening and dinner at Olive Garden, we turned in for the night.  I didn’t get very much sleep at all (a combination of nerves, excitement and unfamiliar surroundings), but I still managed to make it through the run feeling good and excited.  Robyn rocked the race, of course, and made great time.  My next step in this running adventure of mine is to improve my time . . .

Speaking of the next adventure, I’ve signed up for another 5K.  My friend, Amber, has signed up and we’re both looking forward to it.  I want something to help me stay focused on improvement and another run is what I need.  I also got an email from my friend, Megan, inviting me to do a ½ marathon in November.  While I’m interested, I’m scared!  I failed at my first attempt at a ½ (two intense bouts with fever and the flu will definitely put a damper on training . . . )and I don’t know if I’m ready, even though the race isn’t for another nine months.

Another area that I want to improve upon is what I eat!  I think if I gave my meals a major overhaul that my time would improve automatically.  I’m going to see what happens in the next seven weeks . . .