Still at Monty's!!! after killer peel-n-eat shrimp and off-the-charts dancing music!!!!

Still at Monty's!!!  after killer peel-n-eat shrimp and off-the-charts dancing music!!!!
So Mr Man isn't the best at taking cell phone pix...this picture was taken after FOUR ATTEMPTS!!!

It's MY Turn!!!

You have lucked up and found my very first blog! This is a project for my CAGS certificate at the University of New England. I LOVE being a student which is probably why I work in the Duval County school system in North Florida! So, what about me? I teach English and Reading. I love to travel. I have visited the island of Cuba and those wonderful folks on humanitarian mission trips many times in the past twelve years. That's my passion!


I'm at a great point in my life because my two beautiful kids are now in their 20's. Somehow the parenting shifted from caregiver to counselor to confidante to colleague. Again, it's a Great Time to Be Me!!!!! So, what's with the title of my blog??? I shamelessly stole it from a LONG time ago, and I had to cyber-travel to Arizona, my birthplace, to remember. This was the name of my mom's sewing shop when I was a baby! I was already famous before the age of one!


Did I mention Mr. Man? For the past two+ years, I've been involved in a long-distance relationship. We are at opposite ends of Florida, and together we've traveled from Miami to Tallahassee to Cedar Key to Orlando to Gainesville, to St. Augustine, and everywhere in between! Oh, and I turn the Big 5-0 this year. Maybe it's not the Greatest Time!!!! (LOL)

Thanks Mr. Man!

Thanks Mr. Man!
You just gotta love a man who carries your Ann Taylor stuff!!!

Meet my Family!

Meet my Family!
Aren't we beautiful? Tim is 27 and Charlotte is 25. They are the coolest people on the planet!

12 October 2010

Feeling Violated (but you have to wait for it)

Hey Ladies!!! Life has been really busy the past week and I'm reminded how life changes in an instant, even when you knew it was coming! Here's my family at the Jacksonville Jaguars game on October 3rd. Char brought 3 friends and Tim brought 2 and actually 3 of my colleagues from my new school were also there! It was a promotion for my "new" job, Florida State College. $40 bought you a ticket, FREE parking and a shuttle, a T-shirt, and a really, really good tailgate party! (The best part is that they are doing it again on November 21st with everybody minus Char!) So what about Char? Well, I spent a part of this weekend in Ft. Lauderdale which was her last port before heading North! It seemed fitting that I should be there (and don't forget who also lives in South Florida...so a little icing on the cake!) I only sniffled for a minute when Char texted me this... "working with Reece makes me understand what a good mom you have been." She had a great surprise waiting for her in Seattle...Her uncle and his family were there to greet her! This is my brother, John, who she never met! We were raised at opposite ends of the states with our moms and without our father...Well, we managed to find each other and have maintained a really great phone/text/and now FB friendship for years. And yes, I have seen him face-to-face. (He's now friends with my son on FB, so I think there's still time for all of us to be a "real" family, whatever that means!) They even drove her around downtown to the important landmarks, like the Starbucks HQ! Ha Ha! Yesterday she went on a hike and texted me some of the most beautiful scenery...(one day when I really figure out how to manipulate this thing LIKE LYNDSEY, maybe i'll share!) Well, that's all for now. I will be in Cuba from October 22nd through the 31st, but I promise to post before then. I'm still building my stamina from working 2 nights at the college. It's VERY REWARDING because those kids and adults are there for an education! Still, to carve out two extra "not home until 8:30ish" every week is a little taxing, you know! On a personal note, on Sunday, I was in the St. Augustine outlet mall and I bought this big great duffel bag suitcase on wheels at the BASS store. It was marked down to $50. It was for Cuba and I was going to leave it there with a friend who will be making a trip soon. WOULD YOU BELIEVE I CAME HOME AND I HAD BEEN ROBBED? It must have been stupid kids. They took my suitcase, an X-box, and a very old laptop. What is the world coming to? I guess I now have an excuse to go back to the BASS outlet and buy another one, but that $50 really could have bought some great items for my people on that island.....I just have to hope that you really reap what you sow and those people stealing from God will get theirs!

02 October 2010

Black Monday (subtitle: He really is a perfect baby!)

So today, I watched Reece. Remember him? My almost grandbaby? The child that Charlotte embraced as her own? Well, he turned one yesterday and he's getting a great birthday present. Monday, he heads to Seattle with his Veterinarian Mommy and MY CHARLOTTE to join his Pharmacist Daddy. Today, his mommy had to work her final shift while his Auntie Char spent time with the male Grubbs in her life, brother, dad, and grandpa. So, I got the kid. AND HE REALLY IS THE PERFECT BABY! His sweet mommy dressed him in a little Grandma's Gator shirt! We headed to St. Augustine which is my perfect place. If you have never been, well let me just say that I count myself very lucky that I can go there whenever the mood strikes. And it strikes oftener and oftener...(I really am an English graduate!) So, we went to an eerie graveyard with headstones from the 1800's, we ate at my favorite place, Columbia House, we walked around the perimeter of a very old fort, we spent some time with Jesus and Catholic monuments at the exact spot that our country was founded, and we laughed in the rain. Reece came face to face with a cannon, got to be held by a very anachronistic looking reenactor, crawled dangerously close to the river, had at least 70 pictures taken, and stole my french fries without asking. Somehow, it just seemed perfectly appropriate for me to be with him as he prepares to steal my child away ON MONDAY because she just loves him so much and wants to help the family get settled. (Or as she puts it, she's dated all the arses in Jacksonville, so it's time to give the West Coast a try!) I think little Reece really gets me! Maybe his little spirit just knew on his 1st birthday, I needed to be with a little man until I can see "our" little Archer who is hanging out in heaven and waiting for us.......Until that time, I am happy because I get to watch some live Jaguars football tomorrow with Tim, Char, and 5 of their closest friends...It's the Koolaid house all over again,...just at the EverBank Stadium downtown!