Mary Poppins

I had a girls night the other night with Ashley Warner and her mom and Ashley's boss Allison to see Mary Poppins the Broadway Show. Allison happens to be my primary care physician now that I have a new health plan and this was my first time meeting her. We all work in health related fields and so there was a lot of medical talk going on. It was interesting. We had dinner at Benny's Steak and Seafood on the water at the Landing prior to the show.

Ashley and I

The show itself was great - it was interesting how the show was quite different from the movie. There were many songs that were not in the movie as well as the story line was different. I was extremely impressed by the sets and the use of Mary Poppin's magic. Already looking forward to our next girl's night out show.

Paddleboarding

Using their state of the art equipment to learn how to get up on the paddleboard

Omar has a quick recovery from what could have been in the water a fall overboard

Outside the All Water Sports ready to go!

The one Bri ended up using here was one and 40 made in the world - it cost $1800!

paddling out to deeper water so I can stand up without potenital injury

Me trying out the inflatable one - it did keep my feet cooler though

Bri and I both bought groupons to learn to paddleboard. The lessons are normally $40/hr, so we basically got 2 for 1. Bri and Brandon got their first babysitter ever and we were off to paddleboarding yesterday before my little birthday shindig. It was so much fun.

They had a ball with a board on it that we practiced paddling and getting from the kneeling position to standing. We then all got our own paddleboard to use and began. We were at a salt water river or something. I never even noticed it before. The water was pretty dirty and it looked like gators would love it, except it was salt water.

When we got to the dock (it is a boat dock where people go boating) our instructor asked us who we thought would be the best at doing this. I said Bri would be because she is so good at yoga and stuff. So she got the inflatable one. Little did we know that was the hardest one. She lasted about 15 minutes and fell in. Thankfully the instructor let her use his (which is what is shown in the pictures). I tried the inflatable one after we got back to see what it was like - it really is hard. It is very wobbly. I guess the reason that people get inflatable ones is they are cheaper (about $200 cheaper - typically an inflatable one is about $400) and it is easy to take it with you. I was thinking it would be awesome to have one, but you would need a place to store it and they are just plain huge! Not only that but you would need a vehicle that could carry it - they weigh about 40 pounds and are so long. I guess that is why people get inflatable ones - they are portable.

The instructor says it takes an extra day to get used it. I guess beach paddleboarding is completely different and different boards that you use. I can imagine it being difficult. In general paddleboarding was a breeze to learn and not hard to get and stay up.

Omar and Brandon had a race on the way back. Brandon ended up heading for a tree and he was in the lead. I told him to do his back yoga move and he tried and rammed into the tree breaking off a branch. Omar won by default.

We didn't bring our camera with us. We saw this guy with his family of  in this little boat that he had built. It was the craziest thing ever - it was like a little box car probably 5x5 or something and there were 6 people in it (not small people either). Just chilling on the river. I wish I would have had a camera - it was the craziest thing ever. I have no idea how it floated. I asked him how he got the boat there and he said he stuck it in his car. I asked how he got it in the water and the daughter was like he put it on his back! We also went to a place that the instructor usually sees a lot of manatee when it is low tide. It was high tide so they were hiding.

Sea World Orlando

Last month we had a weekend planned for Orlando. This was a weekend where we were going to go to the temple and then to Ikea to buy a peice of furniture. The temple fell through becuase the morning of, I couldn't find my temple recommend anywhere! We were dressed and ready to go and everything. I was so dissappointed. We still went to Ikea and found the cubby hold storage book shelf we were looking for, but they were out of storage. That night we were supposed to go to the Blue Man group with my mom and dad but the discounts that we were supposed to get fell through. So we will have to wait until another time. We ended up having Erin, Brooke, and Brooke's husband and daughter over for a bbq. It was really a nice time. The next day we went to Sea World. All-in-all it was a good weekend. We had a nice time.

waiting in line for Manta Ray - it was air conditioned there and they had aquariums to look at in line - you would never find something like that at Disney

manta ray is crazy how you end up on your stomach for the ride

Omar only cared that he got his turkey leg - I must say they are so delicious. It was even yummer that we got them for free!

I love me some stingrays - I was teaching all the people around me how to pet them without food and then how to feed them when you have food. I got very wet and probably spent a good 30 minutes here

Who is this character anyhow?

Omar's best friend manages a lot of the carts and restaurants at Sea World and gave us free tickets to get in. Last time Omar and I went to Sea World together was when we were dating and I got sick for some reason when I go there so we left after being there for maybe an hour. This time we went on all the rides, except for Journey to Atlantis because the wait was posted as 90 minutes. However, Sea World always adds 30 minutes to their wait times it seems. Journey to Atlantis is a ride I don't care too much about, I enjoy rollercoasters. I haven't really seen their shows in a long time too. The shows were pretty good. I must say that I was most excited about the Sea Lion & Otter show, but I was kind of dissappointed. It was not as good as I remember - it is definetly a show for little kids. I have always wanted to see the Sea World Rocks Show - but it isn't until like 8 or 9 at night. We didn't end up staying that long. We got there at 10 and left at 5pm. I was actually surprised we ended up staying there as long as we did.

Fire!!!

I woke up this morning and was sneezing like crazy. I have training for the next 3 days for the Sandler Sales System and so will be going to the main office. As I was walking up to the main office I began sneezing again, which for anyone who has heard they are not small cutesy sneezes. They are the heart pounding, body shaking, loud sneezes. "Bless You" this guy called out to me and then began talking about the fires. The fires that I guess I am just oblivious have been occurring all around St. Johns County. They think that they are all caused by the same arsonist. That was the first time I had heard about it.

Lucky for me I had training today which allowed me to come home at 4pm. If I had left even 30 minutes later, I would not have been able to get home due to road closures. As I pulled into the road leading up to my neighborhood all I saw was black smoke and FLAMES! There was the news station lining the street and neighbors outside. I began to wonder if we would be evacuated. My first thought - "Oh no, I have been thinking seriously about a need for a 72 hour kit, but haven't done anything yet!!!" Not cool, especially since I am not a big procrastinator. I see the home sales lady, Sydney outside the model home and ask her if I should be worried. I was told that it was under control and not to worry.

I took this picture with my cell phone from my backyard. I took one as I was driving by the flames, but am not sure what happened to it.

Our friends Bri and Brandon might be evacuated (I guess it isn't under control like I was told), they live on the other side of 95 in the Gables. Scary stuff. I begin to Google "Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Fires?" Still not quite sure. I think I am going to work on my 72 hour kit now.

Wonderworks

I had never done Wonderworks before and thought it was about time. We bought groupons to go of course we refuse to pay full price for anything in Orlando. I think with my history of being a 4th generation Floridian and my mom and uncles as well as myself growing up in Kissimmee, everything should be free. But that is a different story.

We went to Wonderworks and we happened to run into the Moody family there, we seem to run into them all the time, and it was just funny that we would run into them in Orlando since we both live in Jacksonville.

Of course we have little patience for lines and so we did not do every activity there at Wonderworks. I was honestly surprised at how much there was to do there. We were told that it takes about 2 hours to complete, it took us 4 hours. Of course we were in line for about 45 minutes to do the ropes course, 20 minutes to do the 4D adventure, and 15 minutes for the lazer tag. We didn't even bother waiting to do the make and rider your own rollercoaster, Omar said those are boring. So we waited for about an hour and 20 minutes to do stuff.

The ropes course was fun, I just wish there weren't so many little kids on it, they were so scared and would hold everything up. With so many people up there it made it impossible to get around people. The lazer tag was fun, but there was no where to hide so it made it sort of impossible as well. The 4D ride was okay, but made me feel a little sick to my stomach which was odd for me.

The one thing that we should have done is bought a soda there. I was so thirsty and we found out from others that you can buy this large soda cup for like $3 and get free refills. Ah well.

Still we had a good time and there would be other things we could go back to if we ever go there again. I am sure when we have kids they would enjoy it. It reminded me of a mix between Epcot's Innoventions and The Orlando Science Center.

January 11, 2011: The Party of a Lifetime

6:30-8:30 PM was Omar's citizenship party. I decided when he first was applying for citizenship back before the 4th of July that we were going to have a "Welcome to America" party for him. After all part of my major was party planning, so we have to celebrate everything I can think of. I bought all the decorations after 4th of July to get stuff 50-75% off (that's the only way we roll around here-discounts and coupons) and have been storing them in our spare bedroom closet. I can say that now we are set for some hot 4th of July parties in the future with our yard signs, flags galore, lanterns, signs, and so on.

We invited people that Omar was friends with: The Schreibers, the Southerlands, the Jagodas. there were 3 families that weren't able to make it, the Hills, the Fosters, and the Clancys.

Omar grilled, we had hot dogs, and then his favorites: spicy sausages, potato salad, chips and cheesy chili dip, my Aunt Nancy's famous sweet potato goodness (everyone dies when they try this stuff). We also had coleslaw my mom makes this amazingly, but Omar doesn't like it, I just thought it is very American. Kelly made this yummy cake that was very patriotic, Wave Your Flag Cheesecake, and the cupcakes.

I had some games prepared but we only ended up really doing one because everyone was having a nice time without the games just eating and talking. There were kids at this party, which is not a typical thing for our parties since we really have nothing for children to do at our house. But we had a red white and blue blanket for the kids to sit on, they ate, they colored patriotic pictures, and thank goodness we actually had a movie for them (this was unplanned, but as a party planner you have to roll with the punches),  American Legends, they loved it. We were going to play a musical chair version game for the kids to get their cupcakes, but ran out of time.

The adults only played one game, see if you can become a citizen by passing the citizenship test. There were 2 prizes for those that got the most right, my mom couldn't participate to win as she knows every answer and it wouldn't be fun (poor mom). The first prize went to Allison Schreiber who got a U.S puzzle and the 2nd prize went to my sister Lindsey who won a U.S. Presidents trivia board game.

Every participant got a confetti popper, lets just say we should have popped them in our house, we STILL have that sparkly confetti everywhere in our yard and the neighbors (oops). Then on to Omar's fireworks to end the night with a bang. This is all he cared about and he had actually snuck outside to do some testers while we played the game in side, he is so child-like! Some of our neighbors came out to watch the show and the neighbor kids did sparklers with us. We pre-warned the neighbors about the fireworks so we wouldn't have anyone made at us, good move on our end. The party was very fun...and there will never be another one like it again.

January 11, 2011: The In-Between

I have a people-pleasing husband. After his ceremony we went to lunch and since it was Omar's day we told him to decide. Of course his first answer was "Golden Corral," his favorite restaurant of all time. So sad I know. That is like the favorite of senior citizens because of the discount and little tiny children possibly, but a grown adult! I have been to Golden Corral more as a married person than in my entire life. There were some complaints and so Omar changed his mind to Jason's Deli. As we approached it, which it is right across from Golden Corral, we asked if he was sure, he changed his mind back to Golden Corral. So we did...yum yum!

After eating we went to Old St. Augustine to walk around. My mom after bringing groups of history teachers all around FL to St. Augustine and having historians come and talk to them knows all these interesting facts and places I didn't even know existed. So we went there and my mom did a little tour. We visited some museum, but found that it was only open Wed-Sat.

We walked around the cemetery that I now want to be buried in, it was SO gorgeous. The only catch was that you have to be catholic, well I can change religions to be buried there, no problem.

We went into a gorgeous tiny little chapel in that cemetery

We went to Flagler College

We went to the Antique Mall that inside what used to the largest swimming pool in the world

Then we went shopping: I got Omar a citizenship gift of 49er's items and rock candy (maybe you are starting to see that I am married to a little child); mom looked for her favorite garden store which we found out has since closed much to her disappointment

We went home to get the party started.

January 11, 2011: A Date to Remember

Tuesday Omar took the oath for citizenship. My Aunt Nancy, mom, dad, and 2 sisters, Lindsey and Kelly came and stayed the night to join us in this once in a lifetime event that most people do not experience. Monday night was spend with cooking for the party the next day, watching football (of course I didn't do that), and playing Settlers of Catan.

Tuesday morning we were out the door by 8:30 AM to make it Florida State College theater for the ceremony. We walked into the large reception hall where a huge line was snaking around. They almost wouldn't let us in because it was so full. Omar got in line and we were pushed to go find a seat upstairs. It was then time to wait. Omar had to be there by 9:15 AM which he was, but obviously he must have been the last to arrive, I didn't know people would arrive so early for this thing. We assumed it must start at 10 AM.

Check out how many people are becoming citizens!

We were not able to see Omar come in and sit down or during the whole ceremony. I was worried that maybe they turned him away and he had been sitting outside the whole time, phoneless. He had to turn in his green card (he has never called it that though, he refers to it as his resident card), and also a piece a paper with questions filled out. A few days prior to the ceremony he asked me to bring it to him. We read the questions and the first one I checked off as yes. It asked have you married. YES, he married. So then it showed he would need to bring his marriage certificate with him. He expressed that he already gave them a copy and I then realized that I didn't understand the instructions well. The instructions were have you done any of these things since your interview a few months ago. OOPS, we checked off the wrong answer. We switched to "no" but the damage was done. I was afraid maybe immigration would say, "sorry, you will have to try again another time since you didn't read the instructions properly."

Nancy, Craig, and Kelly waiting for the ceremony to begin

The Certificates

At 10 AM the ceremony began. Flags were raised, the national anthem was sung, a speech was given regarding how this should be a memorable day and how close it is to Martin Luther King Jr holiday which represents something that this country is all about, freedom. The Social Security office spoke a few times telling us a TON of information of the next steps and papers, and who knows what else we need to do. Finally it came time for the calling of names.

There were 109 names read that day, I was beginning to wonder if Omar really was in there because many rows had past and still no Omar, there was really no one left. To my relief he was #108.

Our very own #108, due to his name they were confused on where to have him sit so they made him last, he missed a lot of the beginning of the ceremony

I was amazed at how many people were becoming citizens and how they all were from Bosnia and the Philippines. There was maybe 10 people from Latin countries, which was a shocker to me. I guess they don't for 1 of 2 reasons: One, they are just like Omar, lazy to get their citizenship, after all Omar could have been a citizen long before we were married and he is now only the 2nd in his family to do the work to become one. His mom and brother have now started the process. Two, they are probably mostly illegal and that is why they aren't able to become citizens.

Omar finally looked proud as he took his certificate and waived his little American flag. He has really not cared much about this whole thing to begin with.

When we walked back out to the reception hall there was a whole other shift of people waiting to do the same thing we did, I wonder how many shifts they do and how often they do them. It is crazy how much of a melting pot our country really is. Omar wished that he had that shift because then his date and time would have been really cool... 1/11/11 at 11 AM.

Omar signed up to vote after he became a citizen, let the Party wars begin!