Our vacay...

...on Vimeo!

Here it is! We took a video on the last day of our trip and I finally uploaded it. It was an amazing day...makes me wish we were there all over again...



I <3 the sound of the ocean...

Ugly Jar Update!

I realized that I haven't given the update yet for our "Ugly Jar," if you remember from this post. After a week of tabulating our complaints and counting our negativity, we ended up with around $20 in the jar, mostly due to me (Charlie is so darn positive!). I even tried to "trick" Charlie into complaining by telling him that I purchased a "musical Christmas clock" that plays a Christmas tune every hour on the hour. I knew for a fact that he happens to loathe these "musically destructive" decorations, and I knew he would complain, which he did... and he put a dollar in the jar...and so did I for being sneaky ;)

I have to say, though...it's so easy in our lives to complain about little things, the smallest details of an inconvenience that come up in life-- a traffic jam, a late appointment, a missing pen, an un-charged i-pod when you can really use some music. I was diligent with tracking my complaints...I think it helped me (especially) a better and all-around happier person. I don't think I'm an avid complainer, as I try to see the joy of life, but being a teacher, there are difficult days, and it's easy to find faults with the "system". However, being more conscious of my words was a step toward being more thankful for the blessings that we do have--which are plentiful and something to celebrate. I think we could all use a little of that this Thanksgiving.

We decided to put the money toward the Angel Tree at my school. It's an easy assumption that many of the students were I teach are affluent...which just isn't so. There are students who attend school who don't have much food (if any) at home, take care of their brothers and sisters late at night, and don't have much this Christmas. I see many of them being my school's "translator." This is our way to give back in a place where our love is needed, and where we will see our gifts make a difference. It's true what they say...giving and loving feels good! :)


Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Luke 6:38

The end...

...to a perfect day. And perfect vacation for that matter. Today was picturesque beach weather: low 70s, lots of sunshine, and a very light breeze. We spent about 6 hours on the beach today, smoothing on the sunscreen every few hours, books in hand. We didn't want it to end!

We spent 3 of those hours at Venice beach, which actually had its perks compared to the beach out front. Siesta sand retains water, and because of it's white color, all of the rain made it very cold and compact-- like a brick! Venice beach had warm, fluffy sand and was hardly crowded at all. The three of us ran along the beach, sat under our umbrella when it got too hot (I know, such a complaint, right?) and absorbed our last day of healing relaxation.

Tomorrow is a big day. We'll wake up at 6, leave by 7, and join the thousands of travelers making their way back home from family and vacation. I plan on lesson planning in the car when I'm not driving. At least we have a sandy mess in the back seat to remember our trip by :)

My hands still smell like shrimp and fish from an amazing Captain Curts dinner tonight... I think I'll be full for days.

Perfect Evening :)

I had to jump on and post this...we had the most perfect sunset tonight. It was cooling off as the sun went down (into the mid 60s). But Charlie and I stole a moment on the beach, just the two of us, where we got engaged, to watch the water-colored sky and the sun sink behind the horizon.

My hand at sand art! :)

Sun, wind, and surf.

Today was was a refreshing, windy beach day. It was much colder than yesterday, only in the low 70s with a brisk wind. It was perfect for a light shirt and swimming trunks! We spent several hours at Venice beach. We even let Luna off her leash and trusted her for the first time not to run away. She did great.


Here are some pictures of our day...

Happy Thanksgiving...beach style :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! As we soaked up the sun, surf, and breeze today, we were thinking how incredibly blessed we are. :) There is such a peace and healing nature about Siesta. It makes every long hour spent grading papers and writing speeches worth it. It's been hard thinking about our family 1,000 miles away, though... we miss you guys!

Today was another fun journey in the land of Snearlydom. We woke up to overcast skies, and took the dog on a walk, but in typical Florida fashion, we could see the perfect, crystal-blue skies in the distance, so after a hearty breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs and pancakes (made by yours truly), we leashed up the dog, got our over-sized beach bag together and headed for the dog-beach in Venice!

Luna's first time in the water!

When we arrived at South Brohard beach, we were quite impressed. It's right next door to the infamous Sharky's restuarant, and Luna was so happy to come play with us! (No dogs are allowed on the Siesta Beaches--so this was the next best thing!) It was a ball and Luna had so much fun with the other dogs. She found some friends "just like her" that she could happily play with. It's hard to be so small when most of the world is 3x your size!


Here's some more of Venice beach...

The whole family!

After Venice, we came back to the condo for some lunch, and then the two of us headed down to Siesta beach for some R&R and reading!

Here comes Charlie with the stuff!

Charlie taking a dip...he lost some sunglasses somewhere in there...

After hottubbing and jumping in the pool, around 4:00 we came back to the condo for some time out of the sun. Hankey Pankies will be tonight's Thanksgiving dinner...more on that later. :)

You'll be happy to learn that Charlie is making dessert tonight... Thanksgiving cookies. I've married a wonderful chef!

Ringling Museum!

Today we woke up to gray skies and buckets of rain! But no matter, it's Florida!--it will blow over :)

In the meantime, to enjoy ourselves while the rain dumped its heart into the streets, we ventured to the Ringling Museum of Art. It wasn't at all what I expected. I suppose I envisioned a "circus-shrine" complete with elephants and glittery outfits... but what we found was an amazing cultural journey!

Unbeknownst to me, but logical by all laws of common sense, the Ringling family was filthy rich (mostly by real estate, oil drilling, and investing--but I suppose the circus didn't hurt). This particular compound houses both the Ringling mansion as well as an art museum which was John Ringling's personal collection of art. You would expect this to be a little room of semi-crappy paintings, but no, he has THOUSANDS of exquisite oil paintings, frescos, sculptures that echoes the grandeur of Florence’s Uffizi Gallery. There were works by Rubens, van Dyck, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Gainsborough. And much to my happiness... Velázquez and El Greco! AHHHH! THERE WAS A WHOLE SPANISH ROOM!

Here I am with El Greco! I think I was the only on there this obsessed.

We toured the complex which included outdoor gardens and a broze cast of the original David! It brought back such fond memories of Rome.

We even got a guided tour of the "Venice in the Age of Canaletto" exhibition that had come to visit the gallery, and learned of famous works by renound Italian painters Canaletto, Tiepolo, Guardi, and Ricci. It was amazing to learn, that even in the 1600 and 1700s, tourists came to Venice seeking souvenir art. Many times, art of Venice glorified today was in fact created for tourists. This made me laugh.

Some pictures taken along the way... The goofy....

And the beautiful...

The harbor where the Ringling yachts parked.

The secret garden on the property...which somehow had a great view of the neighbors' yard...hmmm. ;)

The Ringling mansion! I loved the Moorish/Spanish arquitecture. Amazing.