Happy Birthday to My Hubby!

Today is my hubby’s birthday! He seems to not like his birthdays ending in 9s. When he turned 39, he was pretty depressed. When he turned 49, he was kind of grouchy. Yesterday when I discussed what we should do for his 59^th birthday, he got cranky. Any other birthdays has not affected him this way. He thinks I make too much out of birthdays. But I have to disagree. The alternative to getting older is death so I will celebrate each year that I get older.

Every birthday is a celebration of life! Each year we get a little older and a little wiser. We have had the opportunity to experience new things, capture new memories, and enjoy others more.

We enjoy our lives together and try to treat every day as special which is a good thing. But I think celebrating another year that goes by is also a special event and should be honored.

So happy birthday to my best and dearest friend, the love of my life! I celebrate the fact that you were born and that I get to share your life with you. I’m glad you are in my life and I hope that we get to celebrate many, many more of your birthdays!

cross posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Birthday Cake'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22998854@N02/2311733808 by: Theresa Thompson

Show Up for Life

In Disconnect to Connect from The Thinking Stick, Jeff Utecht took students on a week long journey and students had to turn in all electronic devices other than a camera. He made his theme for the week: Disconnect to Connect. He shares,

“Each day after working on the project and teaching students we would come together to debrief about the day. I would lead the kids through the debrief session that went something like this.

Thoughts on Today
(Overall comments on the day, something funny a kid said, something you learned.)

A Moment
(I wanted students to reflect on a moment...one of those moments we have from time to time where you just step back and go WOW. I wanted kids to think about those moments, when did they come and what did they mean to them.)

A Conversation
(I gave them time to talk about a conversation they had with another student based on my challenge above. Who did they talk to, what did they learn?)

A Take Away
(Each night I would add my own observation of the day and try to send the kids away thinking about something. One night we talked leadership, one night team work and another night about the kids at the school and their lives.)”

What a wonderful way to connect with life! Maybe this is a commercial break from my usual blog posts but this really struck me as important. Not just in the classroom but in real life. How much of life do I let pass me by without taking stock of each day and appreciating it? Wouldn’t this be a good practice to get into on a daily basis? I think at times I do this when we do something special but not when I have ordinary days. Even the ordinary days should count.

I think it is important to show up for life and appreciate each of these things in every day. I want every day to have a Wow moment. I want to take time to have a conversation with others about my Wow moment. I want to learn something every day which is an indication that I didn’t waste the day because for me, not learning something each day is wasteful.

Do you take stock in your day? How do you show up for life each day?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Bedruthan Sunset_Z7717L'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21222992@N00/41648588 by: Barry

Scrapbook Pages Update

I saw Monica’s post Scrapbook Saturday on her Daily Dwelling and I thought that was such a good idea that I would post my scrapbook pages too. Here are some that I did in January:

Carnival Fantasy – Nassau 1/31/11

(For more pictures, click here.)

We arrived in Nassau but we didn’t get off the ship. We did watch the Disney Dream dock beside us and enjoyed looking at their really cool waterslide. Most of the day was spent relaxing. We sat by the pool and got some sun today but we didn’t do anything special. Don’s Ipod died and he forgot to bring his cord to charge it. Luckily we saw Rhonda and Helen and Rhonda had a cord for us to borrow. Roberta sent us a box of cookies which were delightful!

Dinner was really nice. Baris and Fatma and Alina (the hotel director) and the chef came to our table to visit. It was really nice. Then they felt bad that my food got cold so they had the servers bring out new plates for us when they left. After dinner we went to the deck party and visited with Sonny and Vicky from Birmingham, AL.

Carnival Fantasy – Freeport, Bahamas 1/30/11

(For more pictures, click here.)

As usual, I got on the internet for 15 minutes and then walked on the treadmill for an hour before waking Don up. He was really tired this morning. We ate breakfast in the dining room and had a nice chat with Baris. Then we sat out on the deck for awhile and ended up taking a short nap before we headed into Port Lucaya. We were docked at Freeport Harbour and it cost $5 per person for the taxi ride to Port Lucaya. We walked around the straw market, saw the lighthouse, walked along the beach before stopping for a few beers at Rum Runners Bar (2 Coronas for $5). We at lunch at Unexso (2 grilled cheese sandwich plates with French fries and 1 diet coke came to $14.95). After one more beer at Rum Runners, we took the cab back to the harbor and walked around the straw market. Once on the ship we shared a pastrami sandwich from the deli and then it was time to get ready for the evening. We went to the past guest party and I had a nice chat with Fatma, Baris’s wife. Dinner was nice and after walking around the ship, we headed back to the cabin. When we got back to the cabin, we noticed that Don’s feet and legs were really swollen (like we noticed yesterday too) and we are a little concerned. When we get back into Charleston, we will probably call the doctor if the swelling hadn’t gone down. Then we watched the movie The Sorcerer’s Apprentice with Nicholas Cage which was a really cute movie.

Carnival Fantasy – At Sea 1/29/11

(For more pictures, click here.)

It was a very relaxing day today. I woke up and went to the Lido deck and tried to get on the wifi but I couldn’t do it. Then I went down to the internet café and was able to connect. There were 3 pricing plans: 60 min/$24.00 or 30 min/$16.50 or .75 per minute pay as you go.

I’m glad that I bought the time though because when I checked my email, I found out that one of my rental houses was broken into and the refrigerator and stove had been stolen! Now we have to deal with that when we get home! But at least I’m able to stay in touch with my property manager.

Next I went to the gym and walked on the treadmill for an hour. I’m hoping this will help me from gaining so much weight on this cruise. There were lots of people using the treadmills while I was there.

By the time I was done, Don was awake and we ate breakfast in the dining room. After breakfast we walked around until it was time to hear the cruise director, Risa talk about the ports. When this was over, we walked around some more until it was time for lunch which we ate in the dining room. We sat with another couple from Easley and we really enjoyed talking with them. After lunch I entered the slot tournament but I didn’t get enough points to be a finalist. I will have another try on the last sea day. Then we went to the cabin to rest until it was tea time. Roberta sent us a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and they were scrumptious!

There was a nice tea in Cleopatra’s Lounge and I had a scone with my tea. We met another couple from Charlotte, NC (Nancy and Lee) and we enjoyed talking with them. By this time, it was time to get ready for the Captain’s celebration (met the captain and senior crew) and then dinner. I was really surprised to find that there wasn’t a full length mirror or a hair dryer in our cabin. Luckily I was able to get a hair dryer from the cabin steward and he said it was the only one that he had left.

We met the Captain and I even had a picture taken with him. We also met Baris’s wife Fatma who is the food and beverage director.

It was formal night at dinner and I love seeing everyone dressed up. It was really cute seeing the little girls and boys all dressed up. I had lobster and prime rib for dinner. Baris brought Fatma to our table for a picture. Another lady, Sandy (from Myrtle Beach) joined our table. She was all alone because her friend from VA who was supposed to come with her arrived at the port without a passport and only brought an uncertified copy of her birth certificate so they wouldn’t let her come. So, Sandy had to leave her behind and came alone so she didn’t lose her money.

After dinner we went to the show which was really cute. We sat next a nice couple from Birmingham, AL. She is a retired school teacher and he used to own a bunch of Baskin and Robbins. I wanted to go to the comedy show after that but it was packed and there weren’t any seats available so we just went back to our cabin for the night.

Carnival Fantasy – Embarkation 1/28/11

(For more pictures, click here)

The shuttle was early and picked us up at 11:45. We got on board the Carnival Fantasy out of Charleston. This is my least favorite port of all time. The shuttle brought us to a drop off point where we had to stand in line for another bus to take us to the terminal.

Once we got on the ship, it was wonderful. Don loves the layout of the ship and I like the décor. We ate some lunch and got in our cabin at 1:30. It is a really nice cabin (M162). Then we walked around the ship until the safety drill. After the safety drill we walked around some more until dinner. We have a wonderful group of people to sit with every night (Ann from Augusta, GA, Mary from St. Louis, MO, James and Betty from Johnson City, TN, Rhonda from Knoxville, TN, and Helen from Jefferson City, TN). I will enjoy talking with them every night.

After dinner we walked around the ship a little while and went into the casino. I watched the craps table for awhile and tried to figure it out. It is fascinating to watch and I could hear it calling my name but I resisted. I was kind of tired so we called it an early night.

Charleston, SC 1/27/11

We had a wonderful day today. I picked up hubby’s prescription refill before we left town. It took us about 3 hours to get to Charleston and the first place we went to was a local yarn store called Knit (89 Wentworth St. in downtown Charleston). Of course I found some yarn I just had to buy and a book on sale. Hubby asked me what I was going to make with it and I said, “I don’t know yet!” He just doesn’t understand! Once I felt this yarn, it had to go home with me. After that we went to the Tanger Outlet mall to register our AAA cards for the year. Now any other Tanger Outlet mall we go to, we each get a $5 gift card. When we go to Myrtle Beach next week, we will go to 2 Tanger Outlet malls and so we will end up with $20 in gift cards. We ate lunch at this neat place called the Boulevard Diner in Mt. Pleasant. Don had spicy shrimp and grits ($10) and I had French Onion Soup ($5) and Spinach Salad ($7).

Then we hit 2 antique stores which made hubby happy. Don found some postcards and 2 pictures he liked at one store. I found 2 knitting books at the other store. Then we went to The Wreck in Mt. Pleasant for dinner. It is a little out of the way, nondescript place along the waterfront. The place doesn’t even have a name on the building so unless you know it is a restaurant, you wouldn’t probably stop here. It was a little pricey but it was good. I had crab cake on fried green tomato and Don had fried oysters and our bill came to $42.

Now we are tucked in at the Hampton Inn (on Sessions Way). The staff here is really great. When we arrived I was given a bag of chips and a bottle of water. When we arrived after dinner, we were given two chocolate chip cookies from Otis Spunkmeyer. Tomorrow the shuttle picks us up at noon to take us to the ship and our adventure begins!