Grace and AJ are participating in a trike-a-thon on Saturday to raise money for the pioneering children's hospital helping children with pediatric cancer. Grace has worked really hard learning to ride her bike so that she could ride with her friends.
AJ *might* earn his big boy bike by then. (He has to use the potty consistently to get his big boy bike!) Regardless of baby bike or big boy bike, AJ will be participating.
We are asking for donations of a set amount rather than # of laps. . . if anyone feels so inclined, we would appreciate your generosity to this worthy cause.
Please email me if you would like to make a contribution.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sick Law
A friend of mine has been taking a MAPPS class (state-mandated parenting class) because they are pursuing adoption to expand their family.
In this class, my friend learned that if a parent has sexually abused his/her own child, they DO NOT have to register as a sex offender. They DO NOT have to go to jail. They CAN live with that child and have access to their child. I've been searching on the internet to verify this information, but haven't had great success as of yet. I'm sickened to think this may be the case. How can we ever screen where our children go if we make conditions for not reporting sexual predators?? And yet, we make 18 year olds register if they had relations with a 16 year old. . . .
What a world.
In this class, my friend learned that if a parent has sexually abused his/her own child, they DO NOT have to register as a sex offender. They DO NOT have to go to jail. They CAN live with that child and have access to their child. I've been searching on the internet to verify this information, but haven't had great success as of yet. I'm sickened to think this may be the case. How can we ever screen where our children go if we make conditions for not reporting sexual predators?? And yet, we make 18 year olds register if they had relations with a 16 year old. . . .
What a world.
Air Nautique Wake Games
A friend of ours is a marketing manager for the Air Nautique Wake Games taking place in Orlando April 23-26. She sent us a slew of extra tickets, so if anyone would like to attend, please comment or send me an email!!
It sounds like fun and we can't wait to go!!!!
It sounds like fun and we can't wait to go!!!!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Rachel's
I had coupons to try a new yogurt. My local Publix doesn't carry it, but I happened to stumble upon Rachel's yogurt while shopping for camping supplies at Target (in the grocery section, of course).
It's promoted as "wickedly delicious", and I must concur. As far as yogurts go, this is pretty good. I had vanilla chai yogurt yesterday, and really enjoyed it. I prefer vanilla yogurt to begin with, so that was a good start. I graduated to "Pomegranate Acai" this morning. It has a nice little kick to it.
It's promoted as "wickedly delicious", and I must concur. As far as yogurts go, this is pretty good. I had vanilla chai yogurt yesterday, and really enjoyed it. I prefer vanilla yogurt to begin with, so that was a good start. I graduated to "Pomegranate Acai" this morning. It has a nice little kick to it.
Sheepish
AJ got into my 12 hour lipstick that ReALLY stays on for 12 hours--no matter who you kiss or what you eat. Or how hard your mommy scrubs your face with baby wipes, soap or rubbing alcohol. In this case, it actually lasted 24 hours!
Environmental Learning Center
In Vero Beach. This is Grace and her friends observing a spider and web. We learned about mangroves and their pneumatophores. (My new favorite word, btw!)
STS 119
Space Transportation System 119 launched without a hitch! We rode an airconditioned tour bus beyond security clearance to the Saturn building at Banana Creek, 3 miles from the shuttle. Bleachers were set up and we enjoyed the evening. The launch was beautiful. It was a special treat from Terry's company, ATK, and we're so grateful.
launch video
launch video
Up close
If you ever go to the Brevard Zoo, you must visit their Serengeti exhibit. You will see huge pythons where you least expect them. (Secured behind a cage, of course) And the giraffes really are this close! You can even feed them. Gentle giants.
Schoolwork
We took school to the zoo last week. We observed the jaguars in the rainforest habitat and located the equator. We learned about conserving the rainforest and protecting its inhabitants! Did you know that every spotted and striped cat in the wild is endangered? How incredibly sad. :(
It was nice to see the zoo's new jaguar babies. My friend Lisa thinks they saw the jaguars being conceived!!! Fun stuff!! I also observed the mother jag engage her babies in play, tire after a few minutes, and leap high onto the roof of the exhibit where her babies could not pester her anymore. That is the equivalent to human mothers locking the door on the bathroom and pretending to use the facilities when they're really hiding out with an mp3 player or a good book. Not that I would know ANYTHING about that.
Bowling
Another homeschooling field trip has been bowling every week. Grace has been learning a lot and having fun with her friends! This picture is "teamwork"--they all push the ball down the ramp together. We use the ramp when the kids get tired or discouraged!
Landfill Field Trip
As part of Grace's homeschooling education, we get together with other homeschoolers and go on field trips. This time we went to the landfill!!! (NOT called the dump!!!!)
We learned a lot about recycling, AND saw many birds and a fox nest. The county had a very nice 15 passenger van that took us up on top of a garbage mountain. We also learned that we can get free mulch from the landfill!
Tents
We've had our tent for about 5 years, and we've probably used it 20 times for the duration. And we've NEVER gotten the rainfly properly set up. Everytime we camp, we try a different way, we rotate the rain fly, etc. and have not been successful. The directions that the tent came with were not really helpful, either, btw.
So this weekend, we went camping with the American Heritage Girls and set the thing up to the best of our ability, just trying to cover the screen because it was supposed to shower later that evening.
Some of the veteran campers of the group came over to help me with the rain fly, and what do you know? They knew exactly where it should go!!! YAY!!! We finally got it!!!
I took some pics so that we would remember for next time. What always threw me off was the curvature of the tent around the screen in the pic. I assumed that part would go over the back doors to the tent. It doesn't.
And yes, our tent comes with 2 backdoors, a partition down the middle, room to stand up and a screened in front porch--great for keeping away the 'skeeters!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
23 Foot Crocodile
When I read one news article, I can't help but click on others.
A 23 Ft croc bumped a little girl's canoe in the Philippines, tipping it over, and decapitated her. I KNEW they could do that. Once again, not so sure about this kayaking business!! I think I need to learn how to roll and get back in, just in case. . . and I'm definitely sticking to small rivers and places that don't get very many wavves!
A 23 Ft croc bumped a little girl's canoe in the Philippines, tipping it over, and decapitated her. I KNEW they could do that. Once again, not so sure about this kayaking business!! I think I need to learn how to roll and get back in, just in case. . . and I'm definitely sticking to small rivers and places that don't get very many wavves!
In other news
It looks like Utah legislature is trying to tax caffeine now. Like they don't get enough revenue from alcohol? It's so expensive and hard to get that many people choose to go over the border to Idaho or Wyoming to purchase alcohol. Unfortunately, that is illegal. So the police stake out the highway and try to catch people who've gone over the border and back in a relatively short amount of time and fine them huge amounts of $. I guess next we'll have people going across the border just for coffee!!!
Only in Utah do the coffeehouses have "hoodlums and punks" as regular clientele! Forget the bars--they hang out in the coffeehouse parking lots with their motorcycles and dogs and tattooes. .It's quite unusual. Terry and I loved walking to the local Grounds for Coffee and being around other "gentiles." The kids, too.
Ironically, the state liquor store (the only place from which liquor and wine could be legally purchased) was rather upscale. Probably because alcohol cost so much! They even had lollipops for the kids when I brought them in to grab a bottle of wine!
Only in Utah do the coffeehouses have "hoodlums and punks" as regular clientele! Forget the bars--they hang out in the coffeehouse parking lots with their motorcycles and dogs and tattooes. .It's quite unusual. Terry and I loved walking to the local Grounds for Coffee and being around other "gentiles." The kids, too.
Ironically, the state liquor store (the only place from which liquor and wine could be legally purchased) was rather upscale. Probably because alcohol cost so much! They even had lollipops for the kids when I brought them in to grab a bottle of wine!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Nina Planck: Food writer
Here's a new author I'm interested in.
She's the author of "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" (now in paperback) and "explains why beef, butter, eggs, and other traditional foods are good for you, and corn oil and skim milk, among other modern foods, are not. (Read reviews.) Nina is working on a new book, Real Food for Mother and Baby, which covers fertility, pregnancy, and baby's first foods. In England, Nina wrote The Farmers' Market Cookbook, a guide to what the farmer knows about produce and the cook should. (Alas, it's out of print.)
"Nina is a regular guest columnist on the The New York Times editorial pages and a frequent guest on WNYC, the NPR affiliate in NYC. In 2008, she wrote two articles for Bon Appetit (on butter and raw milk cheese) and for PARADE, on superfoods, includnig grass-fed beef and coconut oil. In 2001, she hosted a 13-part series on farmers' markets for British television."
Anyhow, I stumbled upon an organic food buying club called Annie's Buying Club. I think I might be a buying coordinator someday. From there, I found this site called "Kelly the Kitchen Kop." And Kelly is giving away some copies of Nina's new book. If I blog about the contest and link back (notice how smoothly I did that?) I get extra entries. So there!
Anyhow, I've been thinking about how little fruits and vegetables i actually consume in a day. And I think I really need to up the amount. So I went to The Produce Place and bought about $25 worth of fruit and veggies to give us all something to snack on instead of processed crap. Here's to healthy!
She's the author of "Real Food: What to Eat and Why" (now in paperback) and "explains why beef, butter, eggs, and other traditional foods are good for you, and corn oil and skim milk, among other modern foods, are not. (Read reviews.) Nina is working on a new book, Real Food for Mother and Baby, which covers fertility, pregnancy, and baby's first foods. In England, Nina wrote The Farmers' Market Cookbook, a guide to what the farmer knows about produce and the cook should. (Alas, it's out of print.)
"Nina is a regular guest columnist on the The New York Times editorial pages and a frequent guest on WNYC, the NPR affiliate in NYC. In 2008, she wrote two articles for Bon Appetit (on butter and raw milk cheese) and for PARADE, on superfoods, includnig grass-fed beef and coconut oil. In 2001, she hosted a 13-part series on farmers' markets for British television."
Anyhow, I stumbled upon an organic food buying club called Annie's Buying Club. I think I might be a buying coordinator someday. From there, I found this site called "Kelly the Kitchen Kop." And Kelly is giving away some copies of Nina's new book. If I blog about the contest and link back (notice how smoothly I did that?) I get extra entries. So there!
Anyhow, I've been thinking about how little fruits and vegetables i actually consume in a day. And I think I really need to up the amount. So I went to The Produce Place and bought about $25 worth of fruit and veggies to give us all something to snack on instead of processed crap. Here's to healthy!
Sunday's Launch
Terry's company is back in my good graces. They are hiring a bus for those of us who planned to go to the Wednesday launch. So that's good. if only the shuttle will cooperate, now.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
About Practice Naps.
Practice naps seem to do the trick. Unfortunately, the shuttle did not oblige. The good news is that AJ was very happy to settle for a cookie after his nap and some Dora on TV. And now Terry's company won't book a bus for Sunday's proposed launch. So we're all SOL.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
DST
I hate daylight saving time with a passion. I think i'm going to complain to lawmakers!!! In Florida, it's really unnecessary. And it's been several days and I'm STILL having trouble adjusting. It's ridiculous in this day and age. And in my perpetually sunny location.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sushi
Saturday night, Terry and I visited our friend Priscilla for a "sushi night." Terry has been bringing home more sushi than will fit in the fridge when he goes to Publix, and I turn up my nose unless it's California rolls with cooked crabmeat. But this is HIS birthday we were celebrating, so I sucked it up. And I'm glad I did.
We went to this place called Wazzabi in Winter Park, and I decided to be brave and daring and try whatever they ordered. I had a beer before the food arrived to loosen up a bit (Kirin Light--smooth and good) and a big bottle of soy sauce to help the sushi go down. We tried white tuna sushimi, red tuna sushimi, "Jade" roll, "dessert" roll (coconut shrimp and mango), Full Sail roll, spicy tuna roll, Spider Roll, Challenging Roll . . and I tried every single thing they ordered. It was all served on a wooden boat about 2' long and 1' wide. And I tried eel sauce, which sounds like it is made of eel, but it's actually just a sweet sauce that is typically served with eel. I liked the sauce with EVERYTHING. And the eel was actually quite good. I tried sake, too. Not so good. I'll stick with ice cold water with a slice of lemon.
But now I can say that I like sushi. I just know everyone will be so proud.
We went to this place called Wazzabi in Winter Park, and I decided to be brave and daring and try whatever they ordered. I had a beer before the food arrived to loosen up a bit (Kirin Light--smooth and good) and a big bottle of soy sauce to help the sushi go down. We tried white tuna sushimi, red tuna sushimi, "Jade" roll, "dessert" roll (coconut shrimp and mango), Full Sail roll, spicy tuna roll, Spider Roll, Challenging Roll . . and I tried every single thing they ordered. It was all served on a wooden boat about 2' long and 1' wide. And I tried eel sauce, which sounds like it is made of eel, but it's actually just a sweet sauce that is typically served with eel. I liked the sauce with EVERYTHING. And the eel was actually quite good. I tried sake, too. Not so good. I'll stick with ice cold water with a slice of lemon.
But now I can say that I like sushi. I just know everyone will be so proud.
Book Review
I recently stumbled upon a Christian author named Francine Rivers. I found one of her books, The Last Sin Eater at the library and haven't been able to put it down!
It's about a small Appalachian community in the 1850's who have a designated "sin eater"--he takes the sins of the dying upon himself so that the dead can be reconciled with God and not haunt the community. A young girl is burdened with terrible guilt and seeks out the sin eater, hoping to be relieved of her burden. Along the way, she hears the word of the Lord and realizes that Jesus is the ultimate sin eater--His death and resurrection saved us, not some other flawed human. It's a beautiful story, moving and thoughtful. The Scripture quoted really comes to life in a relevant way throughout this book.
This is a book and author whom I highly recommend!
It's about a small Appalachian community in the 1850's who have a designated "sin eater"--he takes the sins of the dying upon himself so that the dead can be reconciled with God and not haunt the community. A young girl is burdened with terrible guilt and seeks out the sin eater, hoping to be relieved of her burden. Along the way, she hears the word of the Lord and realizes that Jesus is the ultimate sin eater--His death and resurrection saved us, not some other flawed human. It's a beautiful story, moving and thoughtful. The Scripture quoted really comes to life in a relevant way throughout this book.
This is a book and author whom I highly recommend!
Practice Naps.
We have been fortunate to receive special VIP viewing seats to watch the shuttle lift off on Wednesday night. The shuttle isn't due to go up until after the kids' bedtime, so it is essential they nap that day.
Grace CAN nap when she chooses. AJ, however, has never decided to just suck it up and nap since our move.
So today and tomorrow I'm holding "practice nap" sessions. I've turned off television, and fed AJ as soon as he came home from school. After lunch, he will nap. Well, he probably WON'T, but hopefully between today and tomorrow he will get the picture and Wednesday will go better. Remember, discipline/regret can cost ounces or pounds. I'm hoping to use an ounce of discipline to save us a pound of regret from a cranky kid who embarrasses Terry in front of his co-workers Wednesday night!!
Here's to practice.
Grace CAN nap when she chooses. AJ, however, has never decided to just suck it up and nap since our move.
So today and tomorrow I'm holding "practice nap" sessions. I've turned off television, and fed AJ as soon as he came home from school. After lunch, he will nap. Well, he probably WON'T, but hopefully between today and tomorrow he will get the picture and Wednesday will go better. Remember, discipline/regret can cost ounces or pounds. I'm hoping to use an ounce of discipline to save us a pound of regret from a cranky kid who embarrasses Terry in front of his co-workers Wednesday night!!
Here's to practice.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Today I'm weary.
Today, I was contemplating the Mormon cult. I was praying for specific neighbors in Utah and was wondering if Terry and I fulfilled our God-given purpose during our short time living there. I was praying, asking God to use us in Florida. I was thinking along the lines of getting plugged in at a local church. You know, helping the youth group, teaching Sunday School, etc.
And then the local neighborhood Jehovah's Witness, Gin, showed up at my doorstep today. She's an older woman, a great-grandmother, in fact. I actually had time to sit down with her today. Usually we've been on our way out the door, sick, or had some other valid excuse why we couldn't visit with her. But today, I had nothing. Somehow my mouth said, "Won't you come in and sit down?"
We chatted about inconsequential things, discussed Bible translations in non-threatening, generic terms, and she showed me her Watchtower manual.
Meanwhile, Grace was raging because i had to tell her she couldn't play with the neighbor girl next door as a discipline measure for an incident that happened last night.
So anyhow, I really didn't know much about JW's. I knew they were considered by some to be a cult, and that they use the name Jehovah, (which is really a mistranslation and don't get me started on THAT,) and they don't accept blood transfusions. Then I googled Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs and found this. From there, I researched Effective Evangelism. I've got to start memorizing verses. I've always had a mental block about memorizing, from speeches to piano recitals to Scripture. I'm ashamed to say that I only have a small handful of Scripture verses memorized. And remembering their location. . . well, I can usually name the book. . .the numbers just don't fall into place with regards to this. But I can memorize anyone's PHONE number. (I still remember my phone number from the time we lived in Ft Myers and moved when I was 8. And my first boyfriend's phone number, too. Ridiculous, huh?)
My research has left me weary to my very soul. My heart rate is elevated (I did just work out, but usually it drops quite quickly after a SPIN class) and Terry and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I know what it is. I'm sad. Heart-sick. Weary. Tired of dealing with cults. Tired of feeling burdened for those who are misled. Tired of defending my faith. I'm just tired. I thought I'd earned a reprieve considering our time just spent in Utah.
God is so ironic.
And then the local neighborhood Jehovah's Witness, Gin, showed up at my doorstep today. She's an older woman, a great-grandmother, in fact. I actually had time to sit down with her today. Usually we've been on our way out the door, sick, or had some other valid excuse why we couldn't visit with her. But today, I had nothing. Somehow my mouth said, "Won't you come in and sit down?"
We chatted about inconsequential things, discussed Bible translations in non-threatening, generic terms, and she showed me her Watchtower manual.
Meanwhile, Grace was raging because i had to tell her she couldn't play with the neighbor girl next door as a discipline measure for an incident that happened last night.
So anyhow, I really didn't know much about JW's. I knew they were considered by some to be a cult, and that they use the name Jehovah, (which is really a mistranslation and don't get me started on THAT,) and they don't accept blood transfusions. Then I googled Jehovah's Witnesses beliefs and found this. From there, I researched Effective Evangelism. I've got to start memorizing verses. I've always had a mental block about memorizing, from speeches to piano recitals to Scripture. I'm ashamed to say that I only have a small handful of Scripture verses memorized. And remembering their location. . . well, I can usually name the book. . .the numbers just don't fall into place with regards to this. But I can memorize anyone's PHONE number. (I still remember my phone number from the time we lived in Ft Myers and moved when I was 8. And my first boyfriend's phone number, too. Ridiculous, huh?)
My research has left me weary to my very soul. My heart rate is elevated (I did just work out, but usually it drops quite quickly after a SPIN class) and Terry and I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. I know what it is. I'm sad. Heart-sick. Weary. Tired of dealing with cults. Tired of feeling burdened for those who are misled. Tired of defending my faith. I'm just tired. I thought I'd earned a reprieve considering our time just spent in Utah.
God is so ironic.
My new recipe.
I invented a recipe several months ago. Well, more like had a concept. I'm a big fan of potato salad. And I'm a big fan of baked potatoes. So I started thinking, "Why not create baked potato salad?" I went to All Recipes and didn't see anything that really fit what I was thinking of. I got excited, thinking I'd actually been creative enough to invent my own dish! I was thinking cooked potatoes, sour cream/mayo combo, a bit of dill perhaps, cheddar cheese, chives, bacon bits, salt and pepper. .
And then we moved and I didn't really pursue portioning out the ingredients to invent the perfect salad. I went to Petty's Meat Market to pick up some meat that was on special and browsed the deli. Guess what they have? Baked Potato Salad. It was exactly what I planned on making. It's delicious. So the good news is, my idea really was a good one. The bad news is, someone else thought of it first.
When I was little, I wanted to be the first woman president. But then I realized someone would probably beat me to the punch so I gave that up, too. I'm not one to settle for second place, apparently.
On a side note--my family has a birhday tradition of going to Charley's Steakhouse to celebrate birthdays. It's quite expensive, so going there is a special treat. Usually the birthday person gets to select mom or dad to bring, as they pay for whatever is left on the check after your birthday discount is calculated in (!8.95 off on your birthday!) Terry and I have continued that tradition, at least for my birthday. Charley's discontinued about 4 years ago my favorite dessert. It's an orange white chocolate cake that is just scrumptious! I was so disappointed--I looked forward to that slice of cake almost as much as I looked forward to the steak! Anyhow, guess where I found the cake? Petty's!!! At $5/slice, it's a splurge, but it's a VERy yummy splurge!! So much for losing weight--between the baked potato salad and the orange cake, i'll be lucky to maintain my weight with my SPIN class workouts!
And then we moved and I didn't really pursue portioning out the ingredients to invent the perfect salad. I went to Petty's Meat Market to pick up some meat that was on special and browsed the deli. Guess what they have? Baked Potato Salad. It was exactly what I planned on making. It's delicious. So the good news is, my idea really was a good one. The bad news is, someone else thought of it first.
When I was little, I wanted to be the first woman president. But then I realized someone would probably beat me to the punch so I gave that up, too. I'm not one to settle for second place, apparently.
On a side note--my family has a birhday tradition of going to Charley's Steakhouse to celebrate birthdays. It's quite expensive, so going there is a special treat. Usually the birthday person gets to select mom or dad to bring, as they pay for whatever is left on the check after your birthday discount is calculated in (!8.95 off on your birthday!) Terry and I have continued that tradition, at least for my birthday. Charley's discontinued about 4 years ago my favorite dessert. It's an orange white chocolate cake that is just scrumptious! I was so disappointed--I looked forward to that slice of cake almost as much as I looked forward to the steak! Anyhow, guess where I found the cake? Petty's!!! At $5/slice, it's a splurge, but it's a VERy yummy splurge!! So much for losing weight--between the baked potato salad and the orange cake, i'll be lucky to maintain my weight with my SPIN class workouts!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Grace is aptly named.
I took her to dance class today sans AJ and enjoyed watching her dance through the window. Usually, I have my hands full keeping AJ entertained for the 90 minute class. He plays with his green army men and a wooden snake that holds his attention for quite a while.
I noticed how Grace has become so graceful, and quite confident. Her poise is quite remarkable for a 5 year old. She is blessed with a long, lean body, dancer hands, and elegant feet. She flits around the room, and has already learned their recital pieces. We took the music home today to practice and she's been showing me everything she knows.
But her favorite part of dance time is the gymnastics at the very end! Unfortunately, gymnastics is NOT part of the recital.
I noticed how Grace has become so graceful, and quite confident. Her poise is quite remarkable for a 5 year old. She is blessed with a long, lean body, dancer hands, and elegant feet. She flits around the room, and has already learned their recital pieces. We took the music home today to practice and she's been showing me everything she knows.
But her favorite part of dance time is the gymnastics at the very end! Unfortunately, gymnastics is NOT part of the recital.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Vacation
Terry and I just spent a wonderful weekend in St Petersburg, FL. My parents watched the kids Fri-Sun, and we had such a lovely, peaceful time away. We stayed at a beautiful bed and breakfast, Inn at the Bay that served gourmet dishes in the morning. The bed was so comfy and the double whirlpool tub was really relaxing. We highly recommend it! (It was a bonus that the owners have a 10 month old golden retriever!)
Terry and I both had massages for the first time. It was heaven! We also went on a dolphin cruise and had a tour of the homes on the bay, owned by the "rich and famous" like football players, a soap opera star, and the most spectacular home was owned by some guy who made his fortune recovering sunken ships' treasure.
And here is some kind of bird sanctuary in the middle of Tampa Bay. Thousands of birds crowd this one little area and roost. . .and leave their droppings.
Towards the end of the "cruise," we found dolphins! They surfaced out of the water and disappeared again. They weren't much interested in this boat full of humans. At the end of the two hours, we were sunburned and tired.
We also found some restaurants that had live jazz during our meals. We found it nice to linger over flourless chocolate cake and sip our wine, enjoying the music and people watching.
It was so peaceful. So nice. We haven't had a get away since AJ was born, and it was definitely time. The kids loved staying at Nana and Grandpa's house, and we booked them again to babysit next Saturday!!
Terry and I both had massages for the first time. It was heaven! We also went on a dolphin cruise and had a tour of the homes on the bay, owned by the "rich and famous" like football players, a soap opera star, and the most spectacular home was owned by some guy who made his fortune recovering sunken ships' treasure.
And here is some kind of bird sanctuary in the middle of Tampa Bay. Thousands of birds crowd this one little area and roost. . .and leave their droppings.
Towards the end of the "cruise," we found dolphins! They surfaced out of the water and disappeared again. They weren't much interested in this boat full of humans. At the end of the two hours, we were sunburned and tired.
We also found some restaurants that had live jazz during our meals. We found it nice to linger over flourless chocolate cake and sip our wine, enjoying the music and people watching.
It was so peaceful. So nice. We haven't had a get away since AJ was born, and it was definitely time. The kids loved staying at Nana and Grandpa's house, and we booked them again to babysit next Saturday!!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Murder-Mystery
Brevard County Libraries hosted a Murder Mystery Theatre last month. Each participant received a "kit" with a magnifying glass, notebook, pencil, the first chapter of the mystery, and the first clue. Each week, we were given the next chapter and 2 clues: one that had us hunt for an unusual location in the library, and then the second clue, in the unusual location, which was a clue to the mystery. Grace helped me find the clue every week. One of the librarians wrote this mystery, and even traveled to Colorado to a mystery writers' convention to get tips on how to add twists to the story; and also to collect our prizes.
On the night of the "big reveal", the librarians had all dressed in character and performed their own play. They were wonderful! Then we all "voted" for who we thought had "dunnit" and the librarians then acted out what really went down. I guessed correctly!
They pulled out of the box all of us who had "won" and then randomly drew our names. I won an autographed book called Death in a Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews.
It was such a cool thing for the library to do!
On the night of the "big reveal", the librarians had all dressed in character and performed their own play. They were wonderful! Then we all "voted" for who we thought had "dunnit" and the librarians then acted out what really went down. I guessed correctly!
They pulled out of the box all of us who had "won" and then randomly drew our names. I won an autographed book called Death in a Mood Indigo by Francine Mathews.
It was such a cool thing for the library to do!
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