Monday Memories

Monday my school district had the day off to observe Veteran's Day. Luckily, Dan also had the day off, so we were able to spend some much needed time together running errands, visiting friends, and just simply spending time together. It was such a good day, that I honestly forgot to take pictures until dinner that night.

That is one happy boy there! He was seriously in heaven!

But let me start at the beginning. 

The day started off rocky. I had been up most of the night with some sort of tummy bug. Luckily after a small breakfast in the morning I was feeling better, and we headed out to my alma mater, UCF, to buy a flag for our front yard. When we got to campus, Dan was excited to play this game Ingress (it's like a combination of geocaching and capture the flag). The boy is obsessed. So we took our sweet time getting to the bookstore. Once there, were were a little disappointed by the flags they had in stock. We asked if the bookstore closer to the arena would have anything different, and they said it was a good possibility because it was the larger store. Rather than going back to the car, we decided to walk to the bookstore. Then it started raining, and I was already trying to figure out how we were going to get back to the car without getting drenched. Dan was willing to walk all the way back and come pick me up, but we both quickly realized he would never be able to find his way back to the car on his own. So, we sucked it up, and walked through the rain. It ended up not being a big deal. Fun actually.

We left campus and started heading towards Altamonte for my surprise. I've been having a lot of headaches lately, but I'm only allowed to take Tylenol while pregnant. Let's just say that Tylenol is never enough when you're use to much stronger drugs for migraines. The doctor recommended seeing a chiropractor or getting a massage. So, Dan took it upon himself to contact someone we met at friends wedding and make an appointment for me as an early anniversary gift. To put it simply, it was amazing! If frequent massages will keep the headaches at bay, sign me up!

For lunch we headed over to Chick-fil-a, and for the first time in a long time, I was able to finish my entire meal! Didn't quite finish my milkshake, but I'll take what I can get. Then we visited both of our mothers' offices and said hi to our former co-workers. I had my first experience with a stranger (well, stranger to me, she knew Dan) rubbing my belly. It was a full-on belly rub with kissing. I was told my face turned bright red. I don't know if I'm ever going to get use to people rubbing my belly....

Once my mother-in-law got off of work, we headed out to 4Rivers Smokehouse. It's a local barbecue place that has practically turned into a franchise in the last couple of years. Dan's never been, but had heard great things about it. He was totally jealous when I went without him a few months ago while at a work conference. So I promised him for his birthday we would go there for dinner. From the moment he smells hit his nose, he knew it was going to good. He tried a little bit of everything from everyone's plates at our table. I think it has officially become his new favorite restaurant. Too bad the nearest location is over an hour away from us.

Monday was seriously one of the best days we've had in a while. We didn't think about work. We didn't stress about how messy our house was. We simply enjoyed each others company and spending time with friends and family. 

Those are the good kinda days :)

Just One: Twenty Six

"Happy Birthday to Me"

Yesterday we spent time with both sides of the family celebrating my birthday a day early. I was spoiled with gifts, gift cards, and balloons. Not to mention red velvet cake. Yum! We nearly burned down the back porch with all those candles! I should add, though, that my niece and nephew were in charge of decorating, and they decided I was going to be twenty-eight instead of twenty-six. They just wanted to use all the candles in the package. I swear, if they had only used twenty six, it wouldn't have been such an inferno. :)

Weekend Adventures: Summer First

The first weekend of summer vacation was filled with lots of activity!

Friday, after our school's end-of-the-year luncheon, Dan and I headed into Orlando to surprise my mom for her birthday. My stepdad and a friend of my mom's had been scheming for weeks to throw her a surprise party at the VFW. She had no idea!

Saturday, Dan had to go to work, so I drove back to Orlando to spend the day shopping with mom. Just as I was pulling into her driveway, she sent me a text wanting to know if I wanted to go canoeing with my aunt and uncle. Wasn't exactly dressed to spend the afternoon on the water.... jeans aren't ideal for being out in the Florida sun! But, it was just another excuse to go shopping.

Sunday, my best friend came over with her two kids. Her husband had some stuff to do around their house to get it ready to put on the market (they're moving to Texas at the end of summer), so we used it as our excuse to take the kids to the pool.

Overall, it was a great way to kick off the summer!

Genuine Smile

This past weekend we celebrated this special little girl's first birthday. It was a small gathering of family & friends. The weather was absolutely perfect! I seriously don't think her parents could have picked a better day for a birthday party in the park.

Of all the photos I took that day, this one is by far my favorite.

I've always known that Dan was good with kids. I've seen how he interacts with our nieces and nephews numerous times. But seeing moments like this are little reminders. And the fact that he didn't even know I was snapping this photo makes it that much better. The smile on his face as he's helping her walk is pure and genuine. Photos like this make me fall in love with him all over again. :)

Friday Favorites

Every Most weeks I share things from around the internet that put a smile on my face in the hopes that they will put a smile on your face too. So, without further ado....

today is my brother-in-law's birthday, so I posted this on his Facebook timeline

this guy's recreating weird internet photos with his friends at a party

this elementary teacher's contingency plan if she has a heart attack during class

a list of 21 things that inevitably happen when you work in an office

(I told my sister she had to do #15 the next time her coworker takes a day off)

the smiles on this couple's face holding their twin babies is contagious

this DIY wood rack makes me want our own home with a backyard....like yesterday

Best Pillow Ever

A few months ago, I was out shopping with my mom when she mentioned that she hated her pillow. She was tired of buying a pillow that was nice and firm only to have it become flat and unsupportive in a matter of weeks. Been there. Done that. More times than I care to admit.

Anyways, as we were walking through Bed Bath and Beyond, we came across this pillow:

Mom fell in love with the pillow, but not with the $60 price tag. That was a lot of money down the hole if the pillow didn't work out.

A few weeks later, I decided to pick up that pillow (along with my 20% off coupon) and gift it to mom for Mother's Day. What sealed the deal? A store employee told me that my mom would be allowed to return the pillow if she didn't like it after a week or two. Who ever heard of returning a used pillow?? But, with that reassurance, it was a no brainer to go ahead a pick this up for mom.

At first she was hesitant to accept the gift knowing the price. But after reassuring her that if it didn't work out, she could easily return it, she was very grateful for the gift.

For weeks, she raved about how much she loved her new pillow! Said it was the best pillow she had ever slept on and that she was falling asleep faster and staying asleep longer than she had before. And, she wasn't waking up with kinks in her neck from sleeping in an awkward position.

Fast forward a few months. Mom decided to return the favor and bought the same pillow for me as a birthday gift. Knowing how much she loved her pillow, I couldn't wait to try it out for myself.

Since we bought our Sleep Number bed, my back aches had pretty much disappeared. But, I was still occasionally waking up with neck soreness due to my pillow. That neck soreness sometimes translated into an early morning headache. And, let me tell you, that's a crummy way to start off your day.

I've been sleeping with my new pillow for about a month now, and let me tell you, it's amazing! I seriously can't explain how much better my sleep is at night. I don't wake up as often to fluff up my pillow. I'm not waking up with aches and pains in my neck. I just wish that I had broken down and paid the money a long time ago to upgrade to a nicer pillow rather than buying cheap pillows over and over again every time they became flat.

So, if you've been hesitant to purchase the more expensive pillow for fear of it not working, let me be the one to encourage you to go for it. I don't think it'll be a purchase that you'll regret.

Disclaimer: I was not paid or perked by Brookstone or Bed Bath & Beyond to write this post. Honestly, I doubt they have any idea who I am or that this little blog exists. My opinions are totally my own and I felt like sharing them in the hopes that it might help someone else making the big decision to purchase a relatively expensive pillow.

Weekend Adventures: Swimming with Manatees

Hello everyone. Long time, no posting. This semester is seriously kicking my butt. I'm at school an hour earlier than I need to be, everyday, and I'm usually staying two hours after the final bell rings catching up on grading or helping students study for their next test. Progress reports have already been handed out, which means we only have a few more weeks until Spring Break!

Anyways, I'm getting way off topic, aren't I? What does school have to do with manatees? Absolutely nothing. Time to get back on track.... shall we?

I mentioned that one of our new year's resolutions this year was to go swimming with the manatees. It wasn't a hard resolution to accomplish considering my mother-in-law gifted Dan with vouchers for his birthday back in November. We finally got around to booking a trip last month.

Early one Saturday we headed out to Crystal River, which was a little over an hour drive. We got to the dive shop a little early. Considering I had never been inside a dive shop before, this place was pretty cool. Equipment... souvenirs... anything you could need to go snorkeling or diving, they had it. They even had an indoor dive pool for their scuba diving certification course. Let me tell you, Dan was like a kid in a candy store!

We checked in, signed waivers, and got our wet suits, fins, and snorkels.

Now, I've never worn a wet suit before. The only thing I had to reference were all of those TV shows and movies where the character has the hardest time getting into one. In reality, it wasn't that bad. The only thing I really struggled with was zipping it up. Now, wet suits aren't flattering on anyone (especially at the butt crack of dawn), but we both sucked it in up and took pictures while we waited for the rest of our group to show up.

We saw that patch at the shop after our tour was over, and I simply couldn't resist posting this on Instagram!

Our tour guide was named Deanna. She was awesome! Really personable and answered all the questions our group had. Although, there weren't a whole lot of questions considering there were only 6 of us on the tour. Yep, 3 couples. Wanna guess which couple was the youngest? It's okay, we're pretty use to it where we live.

Anyways, we took a quick trip down Crystal River to get to the spot.

When we first got there, there wasn't a whole lot of people in the swimming hole. It was kinda nice being able to swim around without plowing into anyone. Because later on, another tour group of about 30 people showed up... yeah, things got a little crowded. But we still had a pretty good time.

We purchased one of those underwater cameras to take on the tour. The pictures didn't turn out all that great. People kicking around dirt in a shallow swimming area. Manatees eating plants on the bottom of the swimming hole. Basically, it was really cloudy once you got in the swimming hole. It was so bad, that you'd be floating on top, and all of a sudden a manatee would appear below you from out of no where trying to surface for air. 

So, interesting fact we learned on our tour: Citrus County is only county in Florida that allows you to touch the manatee. Manatee are protected by more laws than there are fingers on my hand (we had to watch a video before we went on the tour). If you come across them while boating or fishing, you're suppose to leave them alone. But, considering most of Citrus County is manatee habitat, they have been granted special permission to host tours into the rivers for people to get up close and personal.

Oh, and another interesting fact: Manatees are slimy, but rough and bumpy at the same time. Most will have scars on their backs. They'll also have algae growing on their backs because they are such slow moving creatures.

All in all we had a great time. The hot cocoa that was served back on board our little boat was the cherry on top (remember, we did this tour in the middle of January!). 

If you're ever in the area and you want to snorkel with the manatees, I'd highly recommend this place. It's a little on the pricey side (if you bring your own equipment you'll pay much less), but its definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Check one off the bucket/resolutions list!

Anyone else out there ever swam with the manatees? Or maybe dolphins? That's another thing on my bucket list... I've pet dolphins and fed them fish, but never swam with them. How cool would that be?!

P.S. While we were out in Crystal River, we dropped off the geocoin we found on our first geocaching adventure. So far, it doesn't appear as though anyone else has found it yet. But we keep checking in on it to see where it travels next!

Orlando Hockey

Sounds like an oxymoron, huh? Hockey in Florida? But it happens. We even have our own NHL team - the Tampa Bay Lightning. Not only are the Lightning becoming more and more popular, there are smaller leagues that are expanding across our state. One of the newest teams to join are the Orlando Solar Bears.

Actually, the Solar Bears use to be pretty popular in Orlando, but the team dissolved a few years ago. This year they've returned to the Amway Center.

So why am I talking about hockey? Well, because Dan has gotten bit by the hockey bug. It started a couple years ago when his brother joined an amateur league at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland. It's the only indoor ice skating and hockey rink in the Central Florida area that was close to home. Once his brother got into it, he talked Dan into joining a team. And from there, it's history. Sadly, we now live too far from the RDV so Dan hasn't played hockey since our wedding. But, it doesn't mean he hasn't stopped watching or talking about it.

When his birthday rolled around in November, I thought tickets to a Solar Bears game was the perfect gift. So I told him what his gift was and told him to pick a date. He knew his brother would be coming down from Georgia for Christmas and he wanted to know if they were going to go to a OSB game while they were down. So we waited until this past Thursday to celebrate the Hubby's birthday.

It was our first time in the new Amway Center. And I have to say, it didn't disappoint. The only gripe I have is the amount of money you have to pay to park in their garage. We opted to park at Dan's office and walk a couple city blocks to get to the Amway. It was worth saving the $15-20 it would have cost us otherwise.

I'll be honest, I wasn't really into the game. Not like Dan was. But things started to pick up by the 3rd period  when Shades, the team's mascot, got a little more interactive with the crowd.

The best part, hands down, was during the last intermission when they shared a JibJab video of Shades dancing gangnam style. It was hilarious!

All in all, the night was a success. The Hubby really enjoyed himself. And I'm glad he got to experience the game with his brother.

Friday's Letters

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Dear readers, this edition of Friday's Letters is special - I've got pictures! Normally I don't stress with uploading pictures, but I've really enjoyed this past week and thought I'd share. :)

Dear Hubby, I'm glad you got to enjoy a relaxing birthday. You picked an awesome place for dinner. The garlic knots...to die for! We definitely have to go there again one of these nights.

Dear students, thank you for not embarrassing me in front of your substitutes this week. It's nice to know that I can leave for 2 days and come back to a pleasant note and my room in one piece. Dear Mo, thanks for calling me and telling me my name was on the Social Studies list. I'd much rather be in the meeting related to my actual content than a meeting related to English. Dear Social Studies peeps, those two days were so much fun! Not only was the break from the classroom nice, but you guys always know how to keep things entertaining. Social Studies > English. Hands down. Dear Quickfire, your food is AMAZING! I'm so glad we stumbled upon your restaurant - much better choice than the Burger King we initially pulled over for. Us Social Studies people loved you so much, we came back on day two. Would recommend you to anyone! 

{Bacon Chicken Ranch Flatbread - DELICIOUS!}

Dear Florida weather, I am seriously loving you lately. Not too hot in the afternoons. Nice and cool in the evenings. When I got to school this morning you had left a little present on the fences. Not sure we're ready for ice just yet...

Dear Thanksgiving break, you are only 1 week away! I'm so excited! Dear students, today you blew me away! I figured the last thing you wanted to do after your quiz was jump into another lecture. I was hesitant to do a brainstorming activity with you, but you guys were great! And believe it or not, you guys knew a whole lot more than you gave yourselves credit for. I'm looking forward to the conversations next week. 

Dear roomie, (who is moving in this Sunday) please bear with the Hubby and I as we adjust to living with someone else. I know it's only a temporary thing, but we've worked hard to make our apartment as welcoming as possible. Please don't judge our cleaning habits or lack of cooking skills. And please don't judge our cats when they have "accidents." I promise - you won't have to clean up after them.

Dear Hubby, can you believe that we'll be celebrating our first anniversary on Tuesday?! Where has the time gone? Seems like only yesterday we were saying "I Do."

I hope everyone has a good weekend!