Shark's Teeth, Sand Dollars, Crabs and Lionfish!

The kids and I had the best time at the beach on Sunday. We went to Venice with a few friends to look for shark's teeth at Casperan Beach. There was not a building in site and the sand was spotted with teeth and littered with boulders. Our friends work for NOAA so they came equipped with an aquarium with an aerator and tools for the sand and sea (and all sorts of knowledge). The kids had caught tons of bait fish and a few needle fish in no time. They added crabs and sand fleas and basically had an entire ecosystem going. They set the animals free and collected again. When bored of the biotic they moved to the abiotic - sifting sand and collecting shark teeth and sand dollars. The boulders extended into the water which made a great place to snorkel. The place was teeming with fish. Schools of bait fish were everywhere. At one point Madeline was with me but kept getting water in her eyes so she hung out on the rocks and hopped from one to another checking out the fish from above. I found a cool hermit crab and Madeline took it back to the tank. I continued to peruse the algae and sponge cover rocks. At this time I saw a pretty big fish (almost a foot) laying on it's side on a rock with all sorts of flowery extensions - immediately I think - lionfish. That is bad because they are poisonous and not suppose to be there. So I look again - yep - gills are moving -its alive - blending in with the tan and orange rocks. At this time I am a bit freaked out so I check with our friend, the field biologist for NOAA. He gets gear and tries to find it but could not. Once home I look to Google - definitely a red lionfish - in our Gulf - on the rocks Madeline was climbing all over - YIKES. So we had a great day, both kids came back with many shark teeth, sting ray stingers and sand dollars and I came home feeling lucky no little toes came in contact with poisonous spines and a little sad that this invasive species has now made it to our waters.

Back to School

So it is back to school for me and the kids. This calls for super early mornings and homework (for me and the kids). Basically, our lives have ramped up into high gear. I am having a fantastic year so far. It is still early but I am so glad I switched schools. Nice kids - nice faculty - huge faculty - so it might take a bit to get to know everyone. Another new teacher and myself are going to take it upon ourselves to get to see a more social side of the faculty. I will let you know how that works out. The one issue is driving. I triangulate the county everyday between going to work, home and the getting the kids. all of which are 20-40 minutes apart. Kids seem to be doing well although they are at an age where I will not know much on a daily basis - just what they tell me. Here is a cute shot of Jackson.

Fay Day

So I thought I would take my hurricane day to update my blog. Summer has come to end (one day later than it was suppose to thanks to Fay). I will be back to teaching chem and getting up before 5am. I must admit that I am looking forward to the new school year but not the hour at which it must start. The kids are ready too I think. Jackson is starting second grade - his second year in the partial Spanish immersion program. Perhaps I will have hime blog in Spanish one of these days. Madeline is going to 4th. She did pass the FCAT with flying colors for those of you who were concerned she wouldn't ;)

So on Fay Day, I went for a nice easy 3 mile run. The weather was cooler than normal with a decent breeze! I had to test my back since it froze up on me over the weekend. That was not fun but the run was good and my back feels good now. I think brownie making with the kids is up next. The weather is holding up pretty nicely; a little gusty but no rain yet. Still to come... preparations for the First Day: pack the backpacks, get clothes together etc.

So as I am typing this - I am watching an update on Fay. Strangely this peculiar storm has strengthened over land and is looking more defined. Still somehow missing Pinellas County entirely. Stay Away Fay!

A few Pics of the new house

For those of you dying to know - yes, I made it 4 miles today! Woohoo. Slowly - very slowly. It took me almost 47 minutes to run it but I didn't stop :) Next up - run faster!

OK so here is an incomplete look at the new house...

A shot of the family room from the breakfast nook
















Family Room















Breakfast nook (and a shot of the screened in porch)














Living Room (not quite unpacked)














Dining room that is acting as the kids work/play room

summertime

So it has been awhile since my last blog...

I have moved and will post pictures of my new place soon. My goal for the summer started off being sleeping in past 7. It was hard the first week - now it is no problem. It is now getting hard to get up before 8! Yikes - maybe I should not have tried so hard. My other goal is to workout as much as possible. I am running a nice slow 3 miles now - I hope to get up to 5-6 slow and run 2-3 pretty fast. I am headed to the gym now to try a nice slow 4 miles. I will let you know how that goes. I have also been active at Tae Kwan Do. I started taking the Hapkido class a couple times a week. It is more self defense (butt kicking) and you also get a much cooler black uniform. But I go back to a white belt in Hapkido. I will get a picture up of me in that as soon as I get one :) The kids and myself have been enjoying time at the beach and various pools. They have also become assistants to me at my part time summer gig as a mad scientist. Well, that is all for now - I will upload new pics soon :)

Moving, an important word

Moving. This is a very key word to me right now. For one, I get up at 5am and pretty much go until about 10pm. So I am moving most of the day. More so these past few days but I digress. Moving on - I think it is time for me to move on with my life. I have not been purposefully mourning my past relationship - my past life - just have not felt ready for anything new and different. But I am moving (there is that word again) this weekend into a new house. It feels right and good. See moving into a new house has kept me moving physically with all the packing and more importantly I think it is helping me move on with my life. It is a new start and it feels good. Did I just say that? I am dog tired and we haven't done the major stuff yet.

PS - I may lose internet for a few day - did I tell you? I am moving - Yeah :)

San Diego - Here I Come!

I spent Memorial Day Weekend in San Diego for my cousin Bobby's graduation. We had such a great time! We jammed so much into a handful of days. We spent time in La Jolla (the cave was amazing!). We visit the USS Midway (even though I didn't really want to - it too was awesome). Balboa, the mountains, Cabrilllo lighthouse... we climbed up hills, down hills, up stairs and down stairs. Just ask my mom about the stairs. After Bobby's graduation we were treated to a party on top of a historic hotel in the Gas Lamp district downtown. The trip was great - really. I will show you some pictures of our escapades.