Merry Christmas!!

We hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!! It's always nice to have a comfortable warm spot to curl up in after the gifts have been opened...

Bad Blogger...

Blogger switched over their stuff to a new format and it took me forever to get our accounts switched over so I haven't been able to post. Bad, bad Blogger.

Kitty Dukakis

I love my cough syrup. I really do. I use Robitussin Long-Acting. This stuff tastes like it is going to do something for me. It's not that sickly sweet stuff that makes you wonder about it's effectiveness. It has that medicine taste that foreshadows the banishing of evil cough. It works, too, for about seven hours as claimed. Coughing is worse than sneezing because of the not being able to breathe factor. I am completely uncomfortable with not being able to breathe.

One would think that the medication that makes cough syrup effective does so by improvng the situation causing the cough reflex. That is a pipedream. The medication in cough syrup is a chemical that shuts down the neurological center in the brain responsible for triggering the diaphram when the lungs need the cough. For the record, I am fully opposed to shutting down neurological centers in my brain, however, there are exceptions to every rule. Coughing prevents breathing. I like breathing. Bring on the Robitussin and good night little neurons... I'll see you in seven hours when the chemicals wear off.

Fun Fact: In the late 1800's to the early 1900's, heroin was the cough suppressant du jour.

A little good news...

Although the toe incident was a freak accident fully attributed to Chaos Theory, I have found a way to prevent an occurance. The next day, I started pulling the knobbie to close the drain which effectively prevents any future occurances.

Gosh, time flies!

The end of the semester snuck up on me and I am out of time!!!

My World History class just submitted their research papers today and for the next two days, my Cultural Geography classes will be hold a Global Summit. They have researched and represented different nations during the course of the semester and will sit down during the "summit" to solve the world's problems. They have submitted their questions to me for approval and they are asking some fabulous questions that are seriously going to hold their classmates accountable for doing the required research. They understand cultural interaction, economic sustainablity, how to build infastructure and they can totally see through political rhetoric. I am so proud of what they've done this semester!!

My favorite overachiever, Michael, is still studying for when school starts again in January. He even color-codes information with highlighters. I only wish I had those study habits and work ethic. If I did, I would probably have a prestigious fellowship at one of those big fancy schools like Yale. I'm so glad I'm here instead, because it's a pretty good life.

9,243 Wedding Dresses later...

To date, I have seen 9,243 wedding dresses and they are all starting to look alike. It is so much to try these things on, but I thought this was supposed to be see it, love it, buy it...

Yay, Weekend!!

Woohoo, the weekend is here!! I am so excited. Maybe I'll catch up on grading papers... maybe I've got so many papers to grade it is futile... maybe I'll have a beverage!!

On Wednesday, Michael took his last test before Winter Break. He got a 96. He was disappointed. Today, he began studying material for when class starts in January. I wish he would learn to relax.

On again, off again planning...

School is getting really busy, so planning is on hiatus until December 22. However, life is certainly not on hiatus and my toe still hurts a little. Michael is taking his Defensive Tactics exam tonight. I predict that he will score high. I am getting geared up for semester end and Final Exams.

My classes are always crazy and I feel like I herd cats for a living. Last week we reenacted an Aztec ritual sacrifice with complete audience participation and it got pretty loud, especially when the chanting started.

A few weeks ago, the discipline administrator (who hired me) charged into my notorious Third Block because he thought a fight had broken out. There I was in the middle of the educational process, minding my own business and he comes tearing through my door. He scared the tar out of all of my students and me. It was dead silent with us looking at him and him looking at us. He started lecturing them about how they couldn't act like maniacs when their teacher stepped out of the classroom. Apparently, I had blended in because he realized that I was the one who had been egging them on... When he spotted me, I got THAT look.

During Fourth Block, I teach next door to my Department Head. Her class used to freak out when they heard us, and they would want her to check on my class. It's funny because she's like - you have no idea who their teacher is... She gets more concerned when my class is absolutely silent. Basically, if you teach next door to me and you're giving a test, warn me so I can take my crew to the computer lab that day.

However, I must be doing something right because today, I didn't have a voice. No, I mean at all. I could squeak a little later in the day, but for the most part - nothing. It was amazing because all of my classes behaved like angels. I'm not kidding. I couldn't speak so they gave me a break.

Where is all the sunshine?

Today is quite simply the dreariest day I have seen in a long time. The sky is completely overcast. As much as I dislike 98 degree heat, I love the sun and I don't function too well without it. I am so happy that I don't live in Seattle. I have been so sad all day for no other reason than the weather. I really hope it's sunny tomorrow.

The Devil is in the details...

Before I got side-tracked by my Post Office stories, I was going to update folks from out-of-town about the hotel accomodations. The update is that I am still working on it. I will probably choose a hotel this weekend after I have a chance to call back to one hotel that is in the running. So, stay tuned!

Save the Date cards are in the mail!

I'm a little late with this update, but Save the Date cards for the wedding went out on Tuesday! I wonder how long it will take all of them to get where they are going? I don't mean to be a naysayer of the great United States Postal Service, but I remember receiving mail that had been sent three months previously. By the time I got the thing, it had cancellation stamps from twenty-three different Post Offices on it. Okay, I pay our bills online. Obviously I am a Postal Service naysayer because I have more faith in the internet security versus cybertheives than I have in the good ole USPS.

That's not to say that there aren't great people working for the Post Office. The folks at the Inverness office are always wonderful. They are perky and the service is quick. I have some doubts about a couple of people at the Dunnellon Post Office, though. When we moved in to our house, we didn't get any mail at all for almost two full weeks. Come to find out, they had been returning it to sender because there was no known address. Apparently, the brand new house on the street with 8490 on the front of it with four inch numbers, the brand new mailbox and we that are directly across the street from 8489 was not obvious enough for anyone to realize that the address existed. However, when you go into the Dunnellon Post Office, they aren't quite as perky as the folks in Inverness, but they are insanely rapid quick. Everytime I go in there, I have to race to get everything together before I get called to the counter. In Tampa, there was no rush. When I went to the Post Office, I knew I would be a nice long while.

Chaos Theory and The Toe

So, you've heard of Chaos Theory, right? It's something to the effect of if a guy in Bangladesh sneezes then a piano will fall on a guy in Jersey. I'll be honest. My toe hurts. While I was getting ready for work yesterday morning, I got my toe caught in the drain in the bathroom sink. No, not my big toe, it was the toe next to it. I'm not sure what went wrong but I think Chaos Theory is the only reasonable explaination.

Hmm...

Planning a wedding is really expensive.

The Marion Hotel

Our wedding will be held in the ballroom of this delightful vintage hotel. The Ocala community financed the $500,000 first-class Marion Hotel which opened its doors in early 1927. Today, the former hotel is known as the Sovereign Building and is primarily used as office space. However, Salon 209 controls the ballroom space and rents it for various functions.

The ballroom itself is old and possesses an unique character that is woefully lacking in modern construction. Today, it seems that the preference is for cookie-cutter design and washed-out neutral color schemes specifically constructed to feed the modern obsession with creating spaces void of character so that a space can be all things to all people. Most people I know would pass on this venue, but I love it because it is an oddity. I am really happy that we found a place that is distinct in its own right.

Thanksgiving Week Review

Wow!! It hardly seems like I had a whole week off of work... Lots of things happened this week including a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and some serious wedding planning.

Thanksgiving started a little crazy. I made a 25 pound turkey for the family and it fought back. The story is this... turkey makers lie to you when they print on the label how long it takes to defrost a frozen turkey. They lie and that is all there is to it. So, I had to wrestle with the turkey to run water through it in an attempt to defrost it a little quicker. Yeah. Needless to say, there was a lot of water and a few curse words flying around the kitchen. Seven hours later, we ate a fabulous meal with all of the trimmings. For anyone who has never had it, I highly recommend pumpkin cheesecake!

I am extremely excited to report that we have located a wedding venue in Ocala that will suit our needs perfectly. I am in love with it and Michael thinks it's pretty cool. Step one: check! I also spent a good deal of time calling hotels to reserve a block of rooms for those of you coming from out of town. I will have more to report after I make a few more calls early this week. And finally, I finished the Save the Date cards which will go out in a day or two. Michael had a great time licking the envelopes. The fabulous flavor reminded him of how George killed his fiance with envelopes on Seinfeld...

How time flies...

It seems like just yesterday that we were packing to move. It is now six months later and we have finally started wedding planning again. Yea!!


A summary of the last six months in our world:

• We will never do business with AAction Property Management or Forrest Atlantic Builders. 1.) No one had bothered to run electic to our house and we found out the day we were moving in and everything we owned was in a moving truck on the front lawn of the house. We ended up having to move into a different house after arguing with AAction's rental agent for 3 1/2 hours. No one ever took responsiblity; no one ever apologized. 2.) Six months later, there are still outstanding work requests for things never completed in the home. 3.) A pipe burst in the bedroom of our BRAND NEW home and we had to live in the living room for two weeks while AAction got around to fixing the problem. 4.) The list goes on, but we'll stop here...
• Jamie got a job teaching Geography and World History at Citrus High School a week after we moved. This was extra fantastic because it was the only Social Science position in Citrus County and there were more than fifty applicants for the position.
• Michael got a position at Twisted Oaks and then started the Law Enforcement academy at CFCC in September. Between the two, his only free time is Sunday. There was no Crossover academy available in our area to enroll in for classes, so he has to complete a full academy including all of the coursework he had already completed for Corrections. However, after he graduates in June, he will be able to work as a road deputy instead of having to baby-sit 72 inmates all day long.

Our biggest problem is that we do not have enough time. Jamie spends all of her time preparing lesson plans for two classes she has never taught and Michael spends all of his time working or in class. But, we're making do until next summer when Michael graduates and goes back to working one regular job!

Tomorrow is MOVING DAY!!

Tomorrow is the big day when we leave Tampa for greener pastures!! Michael and I are very excited and very jobless. We will remedy the unemployment soon enough. Michael has several very good opportunities and I have two interviews with Citrus County schools on June 1st. Cross your fingers and wish us luck!!

The biggest problem with our move has been that the two cable companies in the area cannot decide which one of them provides service to our house. Seriously, we are willing to pay them money and no one is taking us up on the offer. This means that I have no idea when we will have internet service again and it is killing me because I pay all of our bills online and I am really starting to get with the whole email thing. On the plus side, we do have a pair of rabbit ears we can break out until we get cable.

Packing and such...

Michael is working all weekend and I started packing all of our worldy belongings. Morpheus, pictured at left, was instrumental in helping me get a lot of packing done. As supervisor, when he wasn't checking the stability of the boxes, he was taste testing the corners of the box flaps.

We cannot wait to move so that we have more space. Our new house will have almost double the square footage of our apartment!!

Morpheus cannot wait to move because he will be back on the ground floor where he can watch all of the Petes running around in our fabulous new yard!

Moving boxes...

Does anyone have any moving boxes they want to drop off at our place? Michael and I think it is definitely time we started packing since we're moving in two weeks. We figure we'd better not wait until the last minute!!

Party on!!!!

Friday, what fun. While Jamie got to go have fun with Lanie, here was my day....I got up early, took the kids to school, went to the gym, went to the auto parts store and the dry cleaners, changed the oil in my truck, and did house work. Then at 2:00 the kids came home. HOLD ME BACK!!! I was born under a bad sign.

Wedding Dress Wonderland...

This afternoon, Bridesmaid Lanie and I went to look at wedding dresses. I thought it was going to be like buying every other dress I've bought in the past. See it, like it, that's the one. I had no idea what I was in for...

All of the dresses were beautiful. A few were so breathtaking they brought me to tears. The bridal assistant was an amazing woman. I realize she does this for a living, but she really was above and beyond all of my expectations. Most of all, I had no idea what an emotional experience it would be for me. I didn't find "The Dress," but now I know what kind of dress I am looking for in the future.

Woo - Hoo!!

I am so excited because I've got the Wedding Website up and running. I have even learned enough html to do some editing on this blog site. Look out!!

Things are getting a bit out of hand.

Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that this sort of thing is not me. Never the less, Jamie said I have to keep our friends and family informed. She always makes me do stuff I don't want to do, and I love her. Weird huh? Then again she thinks I'm insane, so I guess it works in some weird Freudian way. So here goes... Jamie has become wide eyed with creativity, and it makes me nervous. She sometimes forgets where she is or what time of the day it is. On the other hand, I would never be able to create these intricate little pieces of art myself because I would surely break them. I'm happy to see she is happy, and excited about getting married to a guy like me. She's taking on quite a task. Being in a Sheriff's Deputy is enough with the hours away from home, but knowing how Jamie handles hospital situations, and worries about even having to be in that situation, I wonder how I get out the door some days. I have convinced myself that when I get out there on the road, she will be armed with her radio scanner, and will arrive on scene demanding that HER Deputy not be harmed in any way! She worries, and that's nice.

Jamie has now discovered she can learn to sculpt various fruits for the wedding. I don't know how to feel about that. I beg my future Mother in Law, Diana, to please step in and make an attempt to keep her feet somewhere close to the ground. I think my future Father in Law, Jim, and I may need to get out the fishing poles, and disappear before we get hurt, or blamed for something.

Weekend Accomplishments!

This weekend I was able to get a lot of work done on our Save the Date cards! This is so exciting to me. Michael looks doubtful when I start making things.

Michael worked all weekend long. I'm not making that up... he didn't get home Saturday until 11pm because he had to sit on some guy at the hospital until someone remembered to show up and relieve him (he was supposed to get off at 7pm).

Anyhow, Logan and I went shopping on Saturday, and we watched movies all day long on Sunday. The film fest included: Willow, The Princess Bride, Young Frankenstein and Mars Attacks. We didn't have any popcorn in the house, but we did enjoy ice cream sandwiches.

We're Getting Married!!

Our formal engagement was April 7, 2006.

We have dedicated this blog to keeping everyone up to date on our wedding arrangements. We hope you check back often!