What Do You Do In Florida...

We went to a Tampa Bay Devil Rays baseball game, and the Rays beat the Astros 4-3.
We walked the beach every night (about 4.6 miles from one resort to the next) with another couple that was there for the conference.

We walked in the rain (for 3 days) and when we got tired of the rain we sat in our room and read (me) watched T.V. (Dave)

And we ate dinner at a different local small restaurant every night. At 'Shells' I ate shrimp pasta with creamy butter sauce. At the 'Hurricane' I ate Grouper (a rare fish that sits on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico). And at 'Silas Steakhouse' I ate prime rib. However I have no pictures because no one wants their picture over dinner :)

Waves

The hotel we stayed at was right on the beach. The resort was Trade Winds and the beach was called "St. Pete's Beach" and it was on the Gulf of Mexico. The water was the warmest water I have ever felt before. I was a beautiful light green/blue color and the waves were very small. The 4 nights I was there I spent down at the waters edge just listening to the waves hit the sand. I felt at ease and peaceful while I was there.

The one day that it was NOT raining, I spent 2 hours standing in the water feeling the motion of the water, listening to the rhythm of the waves. I have to admit I was not going to go deeper than my knees (sting ray, fish, shark) so I had no desire to be IN the water just with the water. I felt like I could definitely live on a ship out at sea with the breeze on my face and the waves underneath me.

That is of course until the storms hit. Let me tell you the locals they know this, they can "smell the storm a'cumin" and within 5 minutes-rain, wind, rageful water...I like Utah.

FLORIDA

Dave and I spent the past 4 days in St. Petersburg Florida. There are many things in St. Pete's that are aligned with my life and I feel I was drawn there at the crossroads. There are many things that are in St. Pete's that I did not look for but that came screaming into my life.
The first and foremost was the Pirates of St. Pete's. I am not kidding or fantasizing or being crazy, I am telling you that there are Pirate parafanalia everywhere. Not Disney pirates, real live pirates. Apparently St. Petersburg was a hub for these fantastic Pirate people of my life, ever heard of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?? Hmmmm that was brought to my attention by my husband who thought he was going to squash the pirate in me by going to Florida. Every store, restaurant, gift shop we went into had Pirate signs, pictures, and flags. I swear I was in heaven.
My favorite shirts and signs said: "Got Rum?" "Surrender Your Booty" "This Property Is Protected By Pirates" and "Land At Own Risk" I got 1 tee shirt and one decal for the truck, the decision was so hard....St. Pete's Beach is the place of my soul's birth, I was finally home! :)

Grease

So no one told me that having children in a musical means that the parent becomes the stage crew, set crew, microphone specialist, greenroom staff, and hair and make up expert. However, I have learned how to do all these things in a matter of 1 week. The kids show opens tonight and it has been more stress than any sporting event I have ever been to.
Live theater is a different monster than sports. There is not a lot of prep for softball or football. As long as your child has their uniform on they are good to go. But this is-wow-scene changes, costume changes, mic changes, hair that won't get messed up during the costume changes, and applying make up so thick and bright the kids feel like it is halloween, and this is not for just my kids, but all the kids in the musical. Not to mention the props, hanging them, painting them, glueing, hammering, spraying, stapling-wow- I prefer sitting in the stands and watching the game and letting the coaches do the dirty work, however, after seeing the joy on Harley's face during dress rehersal last night all this, all this head ache and stress is well worth it. I would do it a million times to see her that happy.

This is me and Miss Jess. Jessica Forbes to be correct. She is one of the para-professionals that worked in the Learning Center with me this year at Spectrum Academy. As the job of managing the L.C. fell in my lap mid year, Jess was there to help me stay focused and positive. She has become one of my best friends and helped me through a lot of crap this year. She supports me in my "piratyness" (yes I just made that word up) and enjoys watching me rant and rage about the changes that need to be made. We make a good team and I hope that Jess finds herself in the L.C. again this next school year. I will need her uplifting and humorous self in there to help me cope with the stress of being the school bully!

Good Movie

I read the Kite Runner 2 years ago and have been haunted by it ever since. I have recommended this book only as a book to read if you want to know how blessed and lucky you are to live in the United States of America. This past year the Kite Runner movie debuted and everyone has told me what a great movie it was. "Obviously you have not read the book" was my reply to everyone. I did not want to actually see the horrible things the villains were doing, I read them and visualized it in my head, that was enough for me.

Last night Dave brought home a video for us to watch. He popped in the DVD and "what! What is this! This is Kite Runner! Uhhhh I am not sure I want to watch this." But Dave said we could turn it off if it got bad, so I relented. I already had my negative attitude turned on, so I got ready with the remote in hand.

The remote was forgotten within the first 10 minutes of the movie. It was beautifully done. The characters where everything I had imagined. The horrific villains were left out or "dumbed down" and it was a great inspiring movie. I was mesmerized by the music and I loved the scenery.

At the end of the movie both Dave and I were teary eyed and we sat in silence for a moment. It was that good. I recommend this movie to an adult person. If you have already read the book your angry and confused emotions may pop up, as did mine, but the movie is so well done that I have nothing bad to say about it!

Coats and Hoodies in June??

I know that I am always cold and love to wear hoodies and jackets year round, but when other people also have to follow suit and get out the winter clothes in June, there is definitely a problem. It is June 5th and it is 50 degrees outside, the rain has been pounding our house, yard, truck, and dog for 2 days now...when will it end? Monday I was sitting in the sun getting burnt and sweat was dripping down my face. Wednesday I am back in my jeans, long sleeved shirt, and hoodie with snow hat on!
I am concerned that we are going to be still wearing shorts and tee shirts in November this year. The weather is all confused and screwed up! School is out-GIVE ME THE SUN!