The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today, August 31, 2010...

Outside my window...the sun is blaring but it's not as hot as it's been this month. We got tons of rain yesterday and today it's cooler. Thank the Lord!

I am thinking...about my daughter and how far away from home she seems to be. I talk to her everyday but I still miss her.

I am thankful...that I got yet another extension on my unemployment benefits. God is always watching over us, of that I have no doubt.

I am going...to the library today.

I am wearing...a yellow top, jean capris and white sandals. It's still summer here.

I am noticing...the days slowly getting shorter, and hurricane activity increasing. September is almost here.

I am currently...working on a few scrapbooking pages. Rather than sit and do a whole page at once, I'm doing 2 at a time, and working slowly. It helps keep the creative juices flowing.

I am reading...Matthew for morning devotions, still working through Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage, and a book I found at the library called Christmas Presence, with short stories on the Christmas holiday and how it has impacted different people. An interesting read.

I am waiting...patiently for September 11. That's when BarlowGirl is in concert at our church. I can't wait!

On my mind...I can't believe today is August 31st. The summer went by so fast!!!

From the learning rooms...mostly review for now.

I am pondering these words..."There's no such thing as a Christian who's been spoiled rotten with spiritual gifts." - New Women's Devotional Bible.

From the kitchen today...baked ziti. Haven't had it in awhile.

Around the house...bathrooms need cleaning. Most of the laundry is done but it piles up so fast I'm afraid to look.

One of my favorite things...decorating the house for fall. Soon, very soon.

A few plans for the rest of the week...library today, Awana tomorrow, Cub Scouts on Thursday. That's as far as I want to go at this point.

Here's a picture thought I'm sharing with you...my son taking his swimming lessons this summer. He passed level 2, and we're so happy he did.

Wanna join in the fun? Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman's Daybook. Have a blessed week.

Move It Mondays

It's Monday morning again, the second week of school, and there's plenty to do. I got up at 6:15 this morning to empty the dishwasher, get my son's lunchbox packed, get breakfast ready, wake my son up, iron hubby's shirt, and get myself ready to go out the door. Whew! Then I took my son to school. What we've been doing (for exercise for the two of us) is parking the car about 2 blocks away at the local supermarket and walking to school. I'd love to walk to school from our house, but because of the way the homes are built and the canals going through, there's no direct way to get there. It's a nice time for us to chat and joke around before he goes off to class.

I'm back home now, and here's the list of things to do for today:

Fold laundry
Fix beds
Get chicken in the oven
Clean kitchen
Clean family room
Pick up cousin's daughter from pre-k and drop off at her house
Clean master bath
Pick up E from school
Homework
Maaaybe finish a couple of scrapbooking pages? (I hope)

Yes, it's a fun filled day as always. It was a fun filled weekend too. Great time at church! I baked a coconut cream cake for Sunday school which disappeared as if by magic! Then I baked another cake, a sour cream coffee cake, for my brother-in-law's 47th birthday. That also seemed to vanish into thin air, come to think of it. Oh well, there's no better compliment than an empty plate!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week. Move It Mondays is hosted by Kristilea at In The Lord's Path. God bless.

Vacation 2010 - Aquatica

The one place we enjoyed the most out of all the places we visited was the one place I took the least pictures: Aquatica! We fell in love with it from the moment we saw it out the hotel window.

It was clear to us there was plenty to see and do, but it was nothing like we expected. It was a hundred times better!

Aquatica is brand new, and is part of SeaWorld. It's literally across the street. We went there on our second day, the kids and I because J had to work. We were immediately impressed with all the colors and greenery. It's very bright, colorful and happy. The first place we passed was a large dolphin tank with some sort of tube going through it:

We found out later it's a ride called The Dolphin Plunge. You can actually slide right through the dolphin tank. I'm not much for these types of rides (I get claustrophobic) but J rode on it 4 times. My daughter A got on once, which was more than enough for her LOL. As for E and I, we were content just watching the dolphins, especially when they swam by together. Doesn't it look like they're holding fins?

After that we rented a locker to put everything away, and the camera went in there too. No way was I going to stay out of all the fun just to take pictures (sorry!). The first place we went to was Loggerhead Lane, their version of a lazy river. It was hot out, but the water was sooo refreshing! My daughter decided she wanted to go down the lazy river another way - via the
Tassie Twister. It starts off as a slide but goes into what looks like a giant funnel before ending in the river. She said it was great! She liked it most because you ride it on an inner tube which she prefers, unlike Daddy who likes to just go down without anything in his way.

We then went to the wave pools - that's right, there's two of them, Cutback Cove and Big Surf Shores. One's right next to the other, so they never got overcrowded even though the park was packed. E showed us his swimming skills and even gave us lessons. It was so relaxing, I could have stayed there all day. I'm glad I didn't, though!

Our favorite area by far was Roa's Rapids (if you haven't figured it out by now, the entire park has an Australian theme). While the lazy river is just that, a slow river with everyone floating on inner tubes, Roa's Rapids is a long, fast moving river. No inner tubes are allowed here; a life vest (provided free by the park) can be worn but isn't required. Basically the current is speeding you through the river which has two entrances. We went around and around so many times we'd lose count! It was quite a workout, too - we would swim or run or just let the current take us. I don't recall ever having so much fun and getting so tired at the same time!

The other area we went to over and over was Walkabout Waters. This section is for older kids like my son E. There's also a section for the little tykes called Kata's Kookaburra Cove, for children 5 and under. Walkabout Waters is large, has water spraying from every which way, and also has slides. My son didn't want to go on any of them at first; the height scared him. When J was finally able to join us, he took E with him and showed him it was nothing to be afraid of. Then we couldn't get E out of there! We spent 10 hours at the park the first day we went, and it seemed to go by too quickly. Of course when we got back to the hotel we practically passed out from exhaustion! The last day of our vacation we finished off at Aquatica as well. I don't remember hearing my hubby laugh as much in our entire marriage as he did the days we spent at Aquatica. He and A rode on more slides than I can count!

We visited Aquatica about 5 more times, sometimes for the whole day and other times for half the day after visiting another park. That's the advantage of the Orlando Flex ticket - it's a park hopper pass for Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, Aquatica and Wet 'n Wild. We did go to Wet 'n Wild but were sadly disappointed. As my daughter pointed out, we might have liked Wet 'n Wild more if we hadn't been to Aquatica first. Wet 'n Wild was okay, but nothing compared to Aquatica. It had more family oriented areas, more stuff for older kids and pre-teens, more greenery everywhere...it just rocked! At the end of our vacation J asked about getting the annual pass for Aquatica - that's how much we loved it! I wouldn't mind visiting a few times a year. We went over and over and never got tired.

Aquatica gets two thumbs up, but we enjoyed lots more on our vacation. More to come!

Observing My Senses

For Today, August 28, 2010...

I am seeing...rain come down on a sunny day. In hispanic culture, there's a superstitious belief that when this occurs a witch is getting married. We have lots of witch weddings here in South Florida.

I am feeling...grateful to the Lord because my brother is getting out of the hospital today. It was determined that his blood pressure dropped, causing him to pass out. His blood pressure medicines have been adjusted, his wrist has a cast, and he can go back home. Praise God for His mercy and healing!

I am hearing...the computer fan, and of course Saturday morning cartoons. They've been a household staple since I was a child.

I am tasting...pumpkin spice cake. Oh yeah, cake for breakfast. It's my favorite fall treat, and since school started this week I thought I'd get in the spirit of fall. It doesn't feel like autumn in South Florida AT ALL, but I can dream can't I?

I am smelling...coffee. My morning treat everyday of the year.

It just takes a moment to observe your surroundings. Won't you join me?

Vacation 2010 - SeaWorld Part 3

Don't tell me you're tired of SeaWorld pictures already! 'Cause I'm not tired of showing them! If you haven't figured it out yet, this is where I took the most pictures. There's just so much to see and enjoy, I didn't want to forget any of it.

Here's my favorite picture of all: I call it, "A failure to communicate."

All right, enough silliness. Let's move on to the dolphins! The show was on the corny side according to my daughter, but I loved watching the dolphins perform. That's all that really matters.

There was an exhibit that included deadly frogs. This is one of them. Can you find the little critter?

The seals were absolutely precious (and precocious!). They knew the people had food for them, and they'd do anything to get fed.

This one saw no shame in begging, and beg he did, LOUDLY!!

We all took pictures with the polar bear near Wild Arctic:

Looks kind of cold, doesn't it? It was pretty chilly in here (which was nice since it was sooo HOT outside). Guess who we were going to see?

That's right, the polar bear! My daughter was so happy. Polar bears are her favorite.

To end it all, here's a family picture taken by a British gentleman who was kind enough to offer. All the parks were filled with British folks. Turns out the kiddies are on holiday (their word for vacation) and go back to school in September, so Orlando gets filled with tourists from the UK. It was kind of funny listening to the mix of Southern drawl and British accent!

Well, that's it for our tour of SeaWorld. Don't go too far, though: we visited several other parks too, and I'll be sharing those soon!

The Friday Five

Good Friday morning to all! The first week of school here in South Florida is coming to an end (to most children's delight). It's shopping day for me; I've gone to one store and still need a couple more to finish up. In the meantime, here's a look into the mind of a forty-something wife and mom (don't be scared):



1. Do you watch/did you watch Sesame Street?
Absolutely! I learned a lot watching this show.

2. Who is your favorite muppet character?
Cookie Monster. He and I have alot in common ;-).

3. Who is your favorite human character?
The two that come to mind are Bob and Maria. Maria I liked especially because she'd say things in Spanish and I felt so important 'cause I understood what she was saying!

4. What is your favorite sesame street song?
The ladybug picnic. It taught how to count to twelve.

5. When you have children, will you let them watch Sesame Street?
My children did watch Sesame Street, and I'm glad they did. It's good, wholesome programming. Not too much of that on TV anymore.

To join in the fun, visit the Friday 5. Have a blessed Friday.

Vacation 2010 - SeaWorld, Part 2

Each time I go back to these pictures it brings a big smile to my face. What a great time of fun and learning! I enjoyed all the different things to see and do and SeaWorld, even if it's just taking cheesy pictures of your kids with Shamu:

Or looking up at a ride that goes waaay up into the cloud ridden sky:

But let's face it: The thing to do at SeaWorld is look at the fish!

My favorites were the manatees (which, by the way, are not fish, they're mammals). They are found here in Florida though they're endangered. My son was amazed to find the reason for that is because of people. Boaters aren't always careful, and the waters get full of fishing line or trash. Other times the boats hit these precious creatures and cause major damage. SeaWorld rescues manatees and tries to get them back into the wild. We were very impressed with the information we learned.

Did you know seamen used to see manatees in the water and think they were mermaids? Incredible!

One thing I love about sting-rays: their faces look like they're smiling at you!

Of course my son's favorite part were the sharks. We went to the Shark Encounter area first, and almost had to drag him out of there! He was just mesmerized at the different types of sharks and the fish that live among them without fear. They're dangerous, but also beautiful creatures.

He also liked the barracuda, but they are the meanest looking fish I've ever seen. They would actually come up to the glass and stare at the people with a menacing look. I'd hate to run into one of those in the middle of the night!

Don't think that's all - there's lots more to come!