10 Awesome Things

I apparently decided to take a mini-blog vacation!  When the school year ended, my routine got all out of whack.  And if you know me well, you know that I thrive on routine.  When my routine changes, a lot of things change.  Thus, my absence.  But don't worry.  For your reading pleasure, a list of 

10  9 awesome things

from my life while I've been gone:

{One}

I said goodbye to my classroom.  It was a sad day because I am nostalgic and sentimental.  I wonder if my new classroom will have wood paneling as well?  That, I wouldn't miss!

{Two}

To celebrate the end of the school year, we took a weekend trip to Tampa.  Actually, it wasn't really a celebration for that.  It just so happened that a big soccer match coincided with the weekend after the last day of school.  We stayed in a cute hotel with a blue bathroom.  Oh, and USA lost.

{Three}

I started working as a assistant summer camp counselor at the preschool where I worked for two years before being hired by the county.  Although my dream would be to do whatever I want this summer, working here is definitely my second choice.  It's been great seeing everyone again, and it's about as un-stressful as a job can be.

{Four}

We have several parks with lakes around us, and we seem to navigate toward running around lakes.  On one of our training days, we found a lot of cute ducks.  This made my list of 10 9 awesome things because I have a picture of them.

{Five}

One day, I made a snack of toast, peanut butter, and a banana.  Jon made a snack of toast and jelly. 

As you can see, my summer has just been so exciting.

{Six}

My mom had taught me to knit several years ago.  I practiced by making a few scarves, and then kind of forgot how.  Lately I have been wanting to try my hand at it again, so mom re-taught me.  I am working on a dishcloth.  I have visions of sweaters, hats, dolls, etc.  But rectangles are all I can handle right now.  

{Seven}

Jon, my sister Sarah, Dad and I ran the Watermelon 5K on July 4th.  This is what we have been training for since May!  Jon and I stuck together, and we finished with a time of 36:25 - a little longer than our original goal, but we ran the whole 3.1 miles for the first time and are incredibly pleased with ourselves.    I loved the free shirt, and I already have another 5K picked out for the end of July.  I think I may become addicted - I had an absolute blast! 

{Eight}

We have watched all of the Harry Potter movies that are out up to this point, in anticipation of the "second half of the seventh book" movie coming out this coming week.  I have to confess, I'm still in the second book.  I obviously took a long break, but the other day I picked it back up again and am nearly finished.  To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy them as much as I am.  They suck you in.  And they have made me cry.

{Nine}

Sarah's birthday was at the end of June, but due to some of the kiddos being sick, we didn't celebrate as a family until just last Friday.  We went over to their house for a delicious ice cream cake and presents.  The girls really react strongly to sugar, and they put on a show for us for quite some time after they finished their cake.  Jon thinks that the person who invented the TV must not have children - with them to watch, there is just no need for further entertainment!  Jon (kind of) calmed them down by singing and reading to them.  

{The End}

I thought long and hard, but just couldn't come up with a ten.  

Thanks for catching up with me!  Next time, it won't be so long in between.  Pinky promise.

Anna

Anna's birthday was on Friday, but we celebrated her today with pizza and cake, party hats and presents.

 The cake your Daddy made for you.

Happy birthday, Anna!  I cannot believe that you are already three years old.  I remember the day you were born so very well.  Gramma and I took care of big sister Kathryn while Mommy and Daddy were busy making sure you arrived safely.  From the moment I saw you, I loved you so much.  And I still do.

My favorite Pirate!

5Ks and Birthdays

Yesterday I didn't blog, and today I didn't take a picture, so I am going to blog today about yesterday's events and call it even.

First things first... exciting news around these parts!  Jon and I (as well as my sister and dad) are going to be running in a 5K in July!  I had been wanting to have some sort of goal like that when I first started changing my eating habits, and I found a 5K that gives us enough time to train.  I talked to Jon about it, and we decided to go for it.  Then, in talking with Sarah, I found out that she was interested, and when we told Dad we were going to do it, he decided to join us!  It will be a family event!

I can easily walk 3.1 miles in less than an hour, but I want to actually run it.  I found a training plan online that will (crossing my fingers!) have us running in 8 weeks.  We started the program yesterday.  Let me just say that running on the treadmill feels completely different than running out in the real world.  My legs are a bit sore today!  We took today off from walking/running, and I went on a stationery bicycle instead.  That was the most boring 30 minutes of my life.  I was not a fan, and now I can barely walk.

After the run yesterday, we met my family at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Mom's birthday, as well as Dad's (just a few months late!)  (My) dinner was delicious, but Mom's was bland and Jon's came after we had all finished eating.  Disappointing, since we usually only go there for special occasions.  We then headed over to Mom and Dad's to open presents and eat cake.  Happy birthday, Mom and Dad! ♥

 Blowing out the re-lighting candles!

Happy birthday, Gramma and Grampa!

Easter, Exercise and Eating

Well, Easter went as quickly as it came (I felt that it snuck up on me this year, even though it came late).  We had a wonderful day.  Church, both morning and evening services, were fantastic.  I am so thankful for my church family!

After church we had Easter "dinner" (technically at lunchtime, but it held me over till long after dinnertime) at Shula's 347 with Jon's parents.  They had an Easter menu, which came with an appetizer, salad, main course and dessert.  I decided to pass and just get ONE course, but Jon and his parents went with the Easter dinner.  I ordered Wild Mushroom Ravioli with short ribs and asparagus - delicious (sadly, I was more interested in eating it than in capturing it on film)!  When dessert time came, everyone gave me a little of theirs (an eclair, 1/3 of a cheesecake, several bits of lava cake) and I was more than satisfied.  However, our server took pity on me, the dessert-less girl, and brought me lava cake while I was using the restroom.  Here you can see the surprise on my face.

My look of shock when I saw a whole lava cake, waiting to be eaten by only me.

Because I certainly had to show our server how thankful I was for her thoughtfulness, I had to eat it.  And also, I mean, come on - it was just sitting right in front of me!

I almost finished it!

I ate too much, felt sick and oddly hyper and I had to quote Kathryn - "I'm being so crazy!"  I hadn't had that much sugar in... years? Ever?  And never will again, thank you very much!

When I got home from work today, I had the urge to exercise.  This has occurred maybe two times in my memory, so I took it and ran (ha!) with it.  I headed to our little "gym" and worked on the elliptical trainer for 35 minutes.  Felt great!

We tried something new for dinner.  The cookbook calls it Japanese Noodles with Tomatoes.  It is soba noodles, tomatoes, scallions, olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil.  We also added tofu for a bit of protein.  I have tried tofu several times, and have never been able to really enjoy it.  I don't dislike it, it just does nothing for me.  Although it was tasty with this meal, it's still not my favorite. 

 Soba noodles in their packaging.

Dinner.  Yum!

Bacalao y verduras

Before I get down to business, I just have to share this photo. The student that helps me practice patience more than any other created this calm, peaceful working environment for herself today.

Is this what a desk at school should look like? I think not.

On a less frustrating note, Jon's parents had us over for dinner tonight. We had bacalao and verduras (codfish and root vegetables). Some of the root veggies included celery root, sweet potatoes, and beets. There were more, as well - all delicious! My favorite were the celery root and beets. I was stuffed afterwards. I think I sometimes forget that eating less has made my stomach shrink a bit.

A tour of dinner: In the front you'll find the beets - not from a can, mind you! Next to the beets is the bacalao, with cilantro and tomatoes. In the background we have our root vegetables, as well as some corn and plantains.

His parents have also started growing a few things in their backyard, like bananas, peppers, tomatoes and some herbs. They gave us some peppers and rosemary, which we can't wait to cook with!

Look at the color on those babies!

Any time spent with family is a good time, and even better when it starts off the weekend!

Beach Days

The last few days have been busy - full of relaxing at the beach!

On a whim, we decided to head out of town on Wednesday. We headed to Port St. Lucie to watch the Mets and Marlins play something called baseball. Yeah, I really had no idea how little I knew about the sport. I knew the point was to have someone run around all the bases (I know, my terminology is quite poor. I asked when it was going to be half-time, and Jon guffawed at me.) but that was about it. I fully respect the sport, and I understand how important it is to some people. I, however, found it boring and played on my phone half the time. I guess I'm more of a football girl. I took a picture of the field (is that what it's called, dear?) using every effect my phone offered. This was my favorite.

I also took a picture of us, in an effort to entertain myself for two seconds. The husband was quite accommodating, and even made a fun face.

The Mets won. I wasn't rooting for anyone in particular, I just wanted someone to win!

After the game we headed to Stuart, where we had rented a hotel room for the night. We got sun-screened up, then drove out to Jensen Beach for a few hours.

It was after 4 when we got to the beach, but were still able to spend a few hours there. Thank you, daylight savings time! After a few hours, we headed back to our hotel, got cleaned up, then went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. We had received a gift card for Christmas, and were ready for some steak! It was delicious! No photos, though... I forgot part of my phone charger, and only had the car charger. My phone was dead at this point.

We were going to check out on Thursday and spend the rest of the day at the beach, but with the storms we decided it might be safer to stay put for the night instead of driving home in it, so we stayed in Stuart for Thursday night as well. Thursday was spent at the beach, where I got a lovely sunburn on my upper back and the back of my thighs. When the clouds started coming in, we got in the car and found this adorable little dive called Kona Beach Cafe.

We both got a turkey burger. Before...

And after...

Yum! That night, we went and saw The King's Speech (wonderful movie!) and had pizza for dinner. We spent about 6 hours at the beach on Friday, as well. We had subs from Publix (to us, a trip to the beach isn't a trip to the beach without subs from Publix!), saw an adorable beach-loving dog and some pelicans, and did a lot of laying around. So much laying around, in fact, that we were exhausted come 6 o'clock when we decided to start packing up.

Some photos from the day...

I ♥ the beach!

Today we met up with Sarah and Justin and the kiddos, and my mom at Lake Eola's spring Fiesta in the Park. I've been going there with my mom and sister for as long as I can remember, and this year I somehow convinced Jon to go as well. It was great to spend the morning with our family, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside. A photo was an afterthought, as we were almost at our car. This is all I got.

It was a wonderful Spring break, and while I am sad to see it end... with the end of Spring break comes only 2 months left in the school year. Bring it on!

Sunday Smiles

Lunch with my family on Sundays is one of my favorite times of the week. This time, I got some adorable photos of Ezra smiling!

A big smile for Uncle Jon!

Hi, Grandpa!

LOVE this photo. The only one missing is Anna!

Saint Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tonight we went over to my parent's house for our traditional dinner of corned beef and cabbage. It was so delicious. I have been eating much healthier the last few weeks, so last night's dinner of starch and tonight's dinner of starch and salt was incredibly pleasing!

I also brought over a bag of laminated classroom materials I made at my last workshop (I am so over cutting all of these things out... can I have an intern??) in case anyone felt the urge to cut. Kathryn found a small beach ball in there and asked me to open it, so I did and blew it up. Then Anna proceeded to spend a good 20 minutes spitting into and on the ball (in an attempt to blow it up).

After she got bored with that, she and Kathryn found iPhones lying around. They are very adept at that swiping thing!

I also got a few smiles from Ezra tonight - and it made my whole day!

Strawberry Festival

Today was a perfect day to be outside... and that is just what we did, at the Strawberry Festival. My family has been going every year since I can remember, really. We all went together last year, and this year we enjoyed it with Jon's parents. "We" had more food than we probably should have (however, I personally only had strawberry shortcake and some rice and beans for lunch), enjoyed the lumberjack show, saw the animals, and wandered around enjoying the beautiful day.

Mmm, mmm, good!

One of the lumberjacks losing to Sandy, the dog. They also threw axes and chopped wood. Exciting stuff!

We loved the cow's tuft of hair.

We bought half a flat of fresh, local strawberries today. We almost bought a full flat, but then I had flashbacks of the Green Goddess dressing episode and we decided two people couldn't eat that many strawberries. I think it was a wise choice.

There is no better way to end a day like today than with a hot shower and a cozy bed. Which is right where I am headed!

Sea World, and more!

I haven't posted anything in a few days, and the reason is exhaustion. My excuse for one day's exhaustion is valid - my field trip to Sea World with a class of Kindergarteners. My excuse for the other day isn't - I stay up too late some nights and then am too tired for anything the next day after work.

Yesterday, all of the Kindergarten classes at my school took a day long field trip to Sea World. This was my second time having the privilege of experiencing this. Last year wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been, so I was a bit apprehensive that I would be stressed out this time. However, everything went as planned and there were no major mishaps. I had a few children who liked to just take off, but when I noticed the chaperone in charge of them couldn't get them to stay put, they just ended the day glued to my side. It also rained throughout the day and the bus ride back to school smelled like wet dog. But we came back with the same amount of children that we left with, the kids had a blast, and I didn't have a migraine at the end of the day, so I count it a success!

The first show we went to as soon as we got there, Blue Horizons. We ate an early lunch at the show (we are used to these, seeing as how our lunch time is 10:35 in the morning on a normal school day).

Believe, featuring a few Killer Whales and a lot of talking and animal pictures on the screen. I got a little bored - it wasn't quite as exciting as I remember.

Seymore and Clyde, or The Pirate Show, as my kids called it. This was always my favorite show as a kid.

The Dolphin nursery. The dolphins were putting on a show for us. One even kept peeping his head up right in front of us, but I kept missing that photo op.

The flamingos.

We also went to the show A'Lure - The Call of the Ocean. It was my favorite of the day. It is in an inside theater, and there are no real animals, but in a way it kind of reminded me of a Cirque de Soleil show. Kind of! Of course, we also saw the sharks, penguins, polar bears, stingrays, etc. One of my chaperones bought the fish to feed to the stingrays, which the kids absolutely loved. That was a great way to end the day. We didn't get back to school until about 6:15. I slept about 10 or 11 hours last night.

Then tonight we headed over to Sarah and Justin's for dinner. They made a delicious dinner of soft tacos/burritos (technically these are the same, depending on how you fold your tortilla, no?), chips and salsa, with cookies for dessert. I tried to eat in moderation, but it sure was hard.

Delicious food!

And of course some pictures of Ezra. He weighs close to 12 pounds now. I love that little guy!