Autumn Update

It's been awhile again. I have been avoiding posting because I didn't want it to turn into a giant whining session. I'm going to try to stick to the basics...

School:

--This week marks the middle of 2nd quarter. And we still do NOT have all of the textbooks needed for the reading classes in my department. Ridiculous.

--The person responsible for overseeing the reading program for the entire county resigned at the end of Sept. (Perhaps this is why we don't have textbooks?)

--The 8th grade administrator is in hospital due to an intestinal rupture.

--There have been 10 fights thus far this school year, including one when a teacher was punched in the face and one where a girl had a huge gash on her forehead.

--Many teachers are feeling the administration doesn't seem to have a handle on discipline this year. (To put things in perspective we had less than 10 fights the entire school year last year.)

--The reading teachers do not have inclusion teachers assigned to our classes this year. In the past we had inclusion teachers to co-teach with us in classes with a large special ed population. This year we're on our own.
--It's making for a super difficult year!

Home:
--No TTC updates to report at this time...will update when I have new news. (Crossing fingers for re appointment during winter break, but I will probably have to wait until March.)
--We were able to drive to Ohio to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. It was wonderful to see them! I am grateful for a wonderful family and for an amazing husband who did WAY more driving than I did to/from Ohio.
--Emma continues to be my shining light. I appreciate her antics and learning discoveries.

Books/Movies:
--I read all of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" books over the long weekend. LOVED them! Great read with interesting premise.
--I saw "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I" and "Tangled" and completely enjoyed both films.

I'll let my fall photos sum up the rest...

Emma's 6th Birthday












We went to the Magic Kingdom to celebrate Halloween at their "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween" party.


















Jacksonville had a "Boat Day"
Em enjoyed touring and photographing some boats on the downtown Riverfront.







Emma at the "Spooktacular" event at the Jacksonville Zoo


For Halloween night trick-or-treating, Emma dressed as a witch.




DH, Em and I spent the day at the Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum in St. Augustine 2 weeks ago...we had a great time!

House made of match sticks.


Em and I pose next to a statue/replica of the World's Tallest Man


DH looking disgruntled in a pirate torture device.


Em and her elephant pose outside.

Updates:
--As I mentioned, I just haven't felt like writing much as of late, due to not having a lot of "positive" things to blog about.
--I seem to be on Face.boo.k more often now that I have a Black.berry...if there are any readers who'd like to be FB friends, drop me a line at velmadinkley@aol.com and I'll search for you to friend you on FB.

Pity Party and Last Disney Update

I've been in a Funk:
The past few days have been a bit difficult. Mainly due to "bump envy." I received 2 Baby Shower invitations this week. While I am truly happy for the friend and the co-worker I was invited to celebrate with, the invites were a reminder of what I don't have. Sighs. (For the record, I DO plan to attend the showers. I want to support my friends!)

Then Em and I met our friends Stacye and Adrian for dinner. Adrian quickly announced that he's going to "be a big brother." Stacye is 8 weeks PG and due the first week of November. Again---happy for her...but sad for me. And then I feel like a schmooze for feeling lousy. Sighs again.

Thus, my pity party began. I have only 3 girlfriends in Jacksonville who don't work in the school system. All 3 of them are currently PG. (Two of them have a child the same age as Em.)
Internal whining---why can't I be PG too?

My DH Rocks!:
DH was off work yesterday, as he is working today. So Thursday night I called in for a "mental health" day off. Friday after dropping Em off at school, DH and I went out for breakfast. I vented and explained my feelings. Have I mentioned lately that I am grateful to have a best friend like DH? He helped me to feel better. (And I appreciated his validating that I'm not a bitch or a raving lunatic...thanks, DH!)

Yesterday it was sunny and 80 degrees out! We finally had beautiful weather. So after breakfast and some Easter Bunny shopping, we headed home. We hung out for the day with open windows----fresh air blowing through the house. LOVED it. And I got hooked on a new show, "The Tudors" on Showtime....about Henry VIII. Cool show and correlates somewhat with the "Queen Anne is Doomed" book I recently read.

Anyway between DH and the lovely weather, I was able to pull myself out of my funk. (Thank goodness!)

Disney Trip--Day 3: Epcot:
I leave you with the last of our Disney pics (only a month late.) We spent the last day of our trip at Epcot. 5 out of 5 stars. We loved it---I love the "World Showcase" with buildings, shops, and restaurants themed from various countries. They've added a "Kidcot"area at each of the country locations----kids can obtain a diecut paper cutout which is different at each location. (A rocking horse from colonial America, a mask from Italy, a kite from Japan, etc.) Em loved collecting the items, and it made the Showcase area more fun for her. She also loved the aquarium, Nemo ride, and the ride inside of the ball (I can't remember its name). DH liked the roller coaster (can't remember its name either.)

Oops...I'm realizing some of these pics are actually from Hollywood Studios, not just Epcot. Anyway, here goes:

The giant Epcot Ball


Em and I with our rockstar wigs (in the shop outside the Rockin' Roller Coaster) (Hollywood Studios)



The Tower of Terror Ride (Em and DH went---I HATE this ride, as I'm afraid of heights and also feel claustrophobic.) (Hollywood Studios)


Another feature at Hollywood Studios Em loved was the Disney Playhouse show---included puppets with favorite characters from current Disney shows (Handy Manny, Mickey's Clubhouse, My Friends Tigger and Pooh.)


A long time fan of the "Singin' in the Rain" movie, I had to pose with this umbrella on a Hollywood Studios back lot.


Em also loved the Little Mermaid show at Hollywood Studios (sorry for blurry pic.)


A worker helped Em with a Chinese yo-yo in the Epcot World Showcase


Em with her mask and paper diecuts from the World Showcase (I love the eye lashes she drew on her mask.)


Em and I with viking helmets (gift shop in Norway area of World Showcase.)


Family pic outside of the Nemo ride with Epcot ball in the background


Em and DH on the Nemo ride



Happy weekend, all! I'm slowly catching up on blog reading and commenting and WILL be caught up by the end of the week----spring break time! Whew!

Disney Trip--Round 2

The 2nd day of our 3-day getaway we went to Hollywood Studios. Rating: 4 out of 5. Plenty to do, (including an amazing playground) many shows and rides. Em was entertained the whole day. Here are some pics...

The Sorcerer's Hat is to Hollywood Studios as the Castle is to Magic Kingdom and the giant ball is to Epcot. (A+ for analogies! ) :)



One of our favorites was the new Toy Story ride. A carnival style ride in which riders use a laser to pop balloons, break plates, knock over ducks, etc. The 3-D effects were superb, and the ride itself was lots of fun. We experienced something we had never encountered before----having to wait in line to obtain a Fastpass. But, we were still able to ride the ride 2X during our visit---score!



I loved the Barrel of Monkeys monkey-link toys outside of the ride.






Em and DH outside of the Star Wars ride.



Love this pic, it's my new computer background. :)



Em and I pose in a convertible on one of the Studio lots.



Though DH and I found it cheesy, Em enjoyed the HSM3 show.




The menu items outside of this restaurant cracked us up and led us to our choice of lunch place, The Commissary. We waited outside the door for them to open for lunch at 11. Just before opening, a worker came out and said we'd be treated to "red carpet lunch" because we were the first customers of the day. When we entered, they literally rolled out a red carpet for us! Employees surrounded the carpet and applauded as DH, Emma and I entered, as a worker shouted, "Introducing the A. family!" We were then led to nice table with table cloth, glass dishes, and silverware. (The restaurant has baskets/disposable cutlery ala fast-food style.) We were waited on, whereas all other customers had to stand in line to order at the counter and then take their food to their own non-fancy tables. It was awesome! We also received free desert!




Mickey shaped mustard cups on our table...



Emma's Kid's Meal plate...



Our nice table. See the megaphones? Em was tickled when the waiter told her she had to place her order using a megaphone.



Em and I LOVED the Beauty and the Beast show. We watched the show, while DH rode the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. It was released when I was a senior in high school. I have fond memories of seeing the film in the theater with my Mom and sister, and going again to see the movie multiple times with some of my Show Choir buddies. Not to mention that Belle is a book lover and wasn't born to royalty....makes her a "princess" that is more realistic. Em was riveted by the show. It was great to see her so into something that I love as well. :)

Disney Trip--Round 1

One month ago today, we were attending our 3-day get away at Disney World. How I'd love to go back! I'm finally posting pics....

The "Mickey" towels on our bed when we checked into our hotel (The "All Stars Music Resort.")


It was an amazing 2-room suite....here's a portion of DH's and my "room."


And the living room area/Em's room (The green coach, red chair, AND ottoman ALL could unfold into beds...Em found this amazing.)


The resort was divided into different areas. We stayed at "The Jazz Inn." This large drum set was outside our building.


Front side of drum set.



On Friday, we went to Animal Kingdom. Our overall rating: 2 on a 1-5 scale. DH said, "It's like they tried to do a Zoo and an Amusement Park and they didn't do either one well." I agree completely----minimal animals to look at; few rides/attractions; and not many shows. This was also Em's least favorite park, as there weren't many characters out-and-about like in the other parks. (She's still bummed she didn't get to meet Pocahontas...we waited and waited and they kept changing the time Pocahontas was going to "arrive," sending Jiminy Cricket instead. Until we finally got bored and left the area.) They did have a nice playground area. Verdict: If were could only visit one Disney park, this would NOT be the park of choice. It did have some lovely features...


The amazing "Tree of Life" is the focal point of the park. Close-up you can see intricate carvings of many different types of animals. (Though, my humorous DH pointed out that it is "totally ironic that the Tree of Life is the fakest thing in the park.")


Em had fun playing the drums in an African-themed area of the park.



DH and Em riding a train.


Em helped a worker unroll this giant snake skin, while we waited for the no-show Pocahontas.



We all enjoyed the Lion King show.