Weekend Coffee Share, Hello, December!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Saturday, a.m.: I’m enjoying a chai latte and watching Bixby move about the house, rolling on the floor, shaking it off, staring at me and asking when he can go out again, then running back to someone else’s bedroom, wanting everyone to be up and about.

I’m slowly resolving the frozen shoulder and listen to Dan Bruglio’s Pain Free You videos almost daily. Pain Free You focuses on addressing what is inside in order to curtail the body’s hyper alert pain in response to brain danger signals. He says we should acknowledge our emotions without judging them. My pain responses throughout the day are growing smaller. Yesterday, I felt like I had a normal shoulder as I walked out of work. Such a big win! (Even if it bothered me later). There’s such interesting science between the brain and bodily pain.

Saturday afternoon: After a break from this post, today’s exercise was walking my dog for 30 minutes. He enjoys that! My knee has been bugging me lately, and I don’t know if it was due to knowing I have bone spurs on my knees or knowing I’ll be done with shoulder physical therapy and continuing the work at home. Either way, I decided not to let it stop me from my walk. That in itself is sometimes a battle.

This past Monday, I received many of the materials purchased with my grant from the Gator Bowl Tax Slayer for MVT award. I unveiled them at the News Club meeting and let the kids help me unpack them. It was so exciting!

Many functional Items were ordered, as well as a VR oculus I need to learn how to use in my 6th grade classrooms and the News Club.

I have permission to share student photos, but I won’t here, because this is my personal blog.

My co-sponsor for News Club is William Jackson, a blogger and retired teacher who helped us start the club and continues to volunteer in his retirement. He is well-versed in the technology side of news and got us started in podcasting! He’ll need to train me and the students on how to use the oculus to explore new things. It’s exciting! He reaches out to news outlets and has arranged interviews for us. Tuesday, we’ll have a news person come out to interview us.

Lots of good things are going on, and I aim to keep up. Hopefully, I’ll succeed.

Saturday evening: Tonight, my boyfriend Chris took me out for scrumptious dinner at Stonewood Grill, and later we visited St. Augustine to view their Nights of Lights decorations.

Chicken Tuscany:

Nights of Lights is a yearly event that draws people from around the globe. Trolley tickets are available for those wanting to take a rolling tour. However, we used our feet! You can’t tell from the photos, but the place was packed, and trolley tickets sold out quickly. I feel fine after the walk, though.

So, that’s another week in a nutshell. December is looking good to me. Have a great weekend everyone!

Advertisement

Weekend Coffee Share, Who Needs Weekends?

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today, just like every other day this week, I enjoyed coffee with a good breakfast. This is vacation living!

Though my vacation is coming to an end today, I look forward to seeing my dog Bixby and of course, my mother and my son! 🙂 If we were having coffee today, I’d share with you some highlights of my vacation trip.

Our cruise line was Royal Carribbean, which I highly recommend! From service staff and food to accommodations, they are amazing!

My s.o. and travel partner. This was his first cruise!

Wonderful, talented room attendants from all over the world are smiling and friendly.

A street mural in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. One of our ports was Cozumel, where we embarked to a tour of Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Our tour of Chichen Itza was a historical, cultural wonder! See my post of a few days ago at https://pamelascanepa.wordpress.com/2022/06/24/cichin-itza-mexico-a-visual-share-and-weeklysmile/

Sunset, leaving Cozumel, Mexico.

Coco Cay, near the Bahamas.

Excursion to Pearl Island in the Bahamas for snorkeling, sunning, and swimming.

Sunrise , approaching the Bahamas.

Farewell to the Bahamas and cruise life.

So, it has been a week that felt like seven days of weekend! This tired teacher’s heart certainly needed this. As for my boyfriend, Chris, he loved his first cruise and would certainly do this again!

That has been my week. I hope all is well with you all! I have a week ahead of me easing back into home, unpacking, exercising, and a teacher training. Thanks for stopping by!

Chichin Itza, Mexico. A visual share and #weeklysmile

Chichin Itza means the mouth at the well of the Itza (Mayans). It is located in the Yucatan of Mexico. We took a ferry from our Royal Caribbean cruise ship to Playa del Carmen, then we walked 10 minutes to the tour company’s buses for a 2.5 hour drive. Ours was a van, much better. I didn’t know what to expect, but the tour was nothing but enlightening. Join me for some highlights!

Playa del Carmen murals tell a story.

Pre-tour, we learned a lot of Mexican history through our tour guide and interactive tablets.

Our tour guide, Carlos, was quite knowledgeable in the history and lore of this area! I couldn’t resist a cheesy photo.

This dog visits the temple and sits at the top frequently!

Local wildlife.

The sports arena.

These are skull designs.

My photos don’t do the etchings justice.

To the left are the vendors, providing a chance to support the local economy. The jaguar whistle lures us in…

This week on my cruise vacation has been amazing! From this portion of the week, I feel so enriched learning about the culture and history of Mexico, the Mayans, and Chichen Itza.

Weekend Coffee Share 4/2

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by  Natalie the Explorer. It’s a Tazo Green Tea day again! I may have a coffee morning tomorrow. We all have our preferences! If we were having coffee ☕, I’d need to relax and have a laugh.

This week I’ve been trying to finish a lot of things with my school yearbook, and it has kept me busy, busy. That’s okay; I’ve made some rounds and talked with many more people, students as well, which is kind of fun! I’ve been at an almost frenetic pace, though. Next week we also start a state writing test.

I’m too busy to stop and stress over it, though. My boyfriend and I have also been planning a cruise vacation for June. Exciting! I’m not sure I want to swim with pigs though. I may have to just observe and laugh at my boyfriend’s antics!

Last weekend, we had a little drive to St. Augustine to visit Castillo de San Marco and have a great dinner. I was slightly distracted by the idea of the floating tiki bar though!

They float on by and raise a ruckus…makes me want to swim over, LOL!

The fort has been here for centuries and is interesting to see. The weather was beautiful! It made for a great walk and dinner date.

My sun hat is being put to good use again!

We are expecting rain today. I had been planning to take my car in today but have gotten mixed up in the things I want to get done. Go, go, go! The challenge of my goals is fueling my energy. When I got home yesterday I was soooo tired that I ordered through Door Dash! It was healthy, though.

One must rest to rejuvenate, though. I slept in late and decided my car could wait till next weekend. I am going to dinner with the boyfriend later and we should be hanging out with another couple, as it’s his friend’s birthday. It should be fun, it always is. 🙂

Have a great weekend!

A Little Ways Down U.S. 1, #echoes of my neighborhood 2

 

A little ways down US 1, I found another sunrise to add to my bucket list goal!   A few months back, I added a bucket list item: to witness the sunrise in 50 cities!  I am counting my own city, and I recall leaving Las Vegas at sunrise in a taxi headed to the airport eight years ago, because no one really sleeps there anyway.  Now, I can  add this past weekend, watching the sun come up in St. Augustine Beach.  That makes three cities now!  Technically, it is a separate city, so I’ll count it.  I am also hoping to witness a sunrise in Georgia this summer.  Because this “other city” is so close, I will also consider it part of my neighborhood.  Isn’t the term “neighborhood” as small or as large as we consider it?   Well, I’m hoping so, as this is my entry in response to Jacqueline Obyikocha’s blog challenge, “Echoes of My Neighborhood.”  Check out her blog and entry at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2016/06/30/night-scenes-of-a-sleepless-city-echoes-of-my-neighbourhood-25/#like-10365

Maybe it’s a stretch to call this a part of my neighborhood, maybe it’s not.  Getting there is a forty minute car ride down U.S. 1, when there’s no rush hour traffic, that is.  St. Augustine is a nearby gem full of history, beautiful views, and a wonderful beach.  It’s an awesome place for a getaway, and the restaurants were not at all crowded this time.  I started off with a mini-spa day, then waited and did some writing at a coffee shop, until my significant other could get there to meet me for dinner at an Italian restaurant. Did I mention, the beach was not crowded at all either?  It’s far different than our visit to Panama City Beach, Fl last year.  I am fortunate to live where I do, with a wonderful city that has a growing arts (and sports) program, and nearby access to beaches and historical sites.  I certainly should get to these places more often.  I never regret going, and it is worth the small drive.  Next time, I plan to share some downtown photos that represent our arts program.  Things are fine in my neighborhood!