Sea World with Trish & Roy

On Thursday, Chuck took the day off and we headed down to Sea World to meet up with some of our favorite people. Trish & Roy were down from Virginia for the week for their annual Disney/Sea World vacation, and brought along Roy's daughter Brittany. We headed out and got to Seal World around 10:30am and met the gang at the dolphin nursery. We decided to go towards the Dolphin Feeding area so Trish, Roy & Brittany went in there and we headed to the other end to watch the dolphins swim around. They were jumping all around and we got splashed pretty good! We stopped for lunch at Mama's Kitchen & Smoky Creek BBQ. Sat and talked for a while, then decided to head out so we could do a few things before the dolphin show at 2:30pm. One of Chuck's friends, Nick, is a trainer and we talked to him that morning and knew he would be in the 2:30pm show so we wanted to see that one. Headed off to wander through the Penguin Encounter, and waited for Roy & Brittany to go on Kraaken & then Journey to Atlantis. We were right next to the Dolphin stadium, so we went in and got good seats. The show was spectacular, definetely the best one I've seen since they changed the show to Blue Horizons. Nick said they souped it up some because of the whole Anheiser-Busch being bought, and I guess the company that bought it is selling the parks, and some potential buyers were in the crowd. Either way, amazing show. After we saw the dolphin show, we hung out and said hi to Nick, who took us backstage to see the false killer whales.

Left the dolphin show and went to see the Sea Lion & Otter feeding area, walked through Shark Encounter, and then got our seats at the Clyde & Seamore show before the mime came out -- I hate walking past him!! By that time, Delaney was getting cranky (no nap) so we finished the show (probably ended around 5pm), walked over to see the pictures from Trish, Roy & Brittany feeding the dolphins & headed out. We went to Wendy's to get dinner & sat around for a while talking, while they got a taste of what dinner is like at my house (Delaney -- "Hi Trish. Hi Roy. Hi Brittany.") Finally left Wendy's around 7:30pm. I was definetely sad to say goodbye, I hate that we only get to see each other once a year. Talked about taking a trip that way to visit, so we might have to plan something like that. We definetely had a great time, I love hanging out with Trish! Roy's a great guy too, and Brittany was very nice & Delaney loved her.
And here is a crazy amount of pictures!!!!

Sting Ray Cove

The whole gang - Chuck with Delaney, Brittany, Roy & Trish
Roy & Trish
Chuck & Delaney
Dolphin Cove

Trish, Roy & Brittany after they fed the dolphins
Penguin Encounter

Taking some pretty pictures while we waited


Delaney & Trish

Roy & Brittany in the front!
Panoramic of the Dolphin Stadium
Blue Horizons Show

Our friend, Nick
Nick again

Bird Lady

Trish, Chuck must've taken this one especially for us!
Mid-air
Vulture Guys
False Killer Whales

Loved these pics!!

Backstage, Brittany, Roy & Trish with Nick & a false killer whale
Delaney wearing Brittany's shades

Sea Lion feeding area

Baby sea lion! Panoramic of the Clyde & Seamore show

Chuck & Delaney playing drums

Dinner at Wendy's
Trish, Brittany & Roy
Brittany & Delaney

That's all I have, once I get the pictures Trish took I will probably post a "Part 2" because a lot of good pics are on her camera. & her camera is better than mine. lol!

mmmm, cake!!

This afternoon I had a few errands I wanted to run, one of them being to JoAnn's to get some more page protectors for my wedding scrapbook. We went inside, did our shopping and left. In the parking lot is an old (but still open) Twisty Treat. Delaney, of course, spots it in the distance and starts saying something. It was windy out, so I had to stop walking and say "What?" a few times. Finally, I realized she was saying "Cake!!" and pointing at the Twisty Treat. Hrm. It's 4pm, looks like rain, and I'm sure as heck not trying to wrangle a 2 year old in the parking lot while I attempt to feed her a soft serve ice cream cone at one of the 2 tables in a 12' square concrete "patio". She gave me an idea before I had time to think of one. She makes the "I'm crushing your head" thing at the top of the ice cream, pinches, and brings her empty fingers to her mouth. "mmmm, cake!" Then, "Mommy!" repeats motions, and feeds me some "cake." I make sure to repeat "mmmm, cake!" We proceed to do this, now using my free hand for my own cake, all the way to the car. I'm sure we looked so weird, but she was happy and I didn't have to deal with a meltdown from no cake. :)

I got so lucky because this is stuff we do when we draw in her coloring books. She always wants me to draw houses on the blank pages in her coloring books. I've gotten tired of houses and add on all sorts of things -- pools, trees, cats, dogs, swings, cars, etc. When I first did the tree I asked her what kind of fruit grew on our tree. As I drew red apples, she responded with "bananas". The Apple Banana Tree was born. After the apples and bananas are drawn, we both proceed to stuff ourselves silly by picking apples and bananas off the trees and eating them, followed by "mmm, bananas!" We're so goofy.

Also updated my 1001, I've added a link in the sidebar for easier access.

Counting

Today's post is brought to you by the number one. Or should I say uno? A little backstory -- my daughter loves to count things. Sometimes she counts 1 straight through to 10, (at 21 months -- maybe I'm just impressed because I'm her mom) sometimes it's "1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 7, more!" etc.

For dinner tonight we had burgers and tater tots. Delaney's never been a fan of anything with ground beef, so she had green beans, yogurt and tater tots. I kept the tater tots on my plate, broken in 1/2 to cool down, then transferred them to her plate. She had to, of course, count the tater tots. Pointing to each piece as she said a number, she recited, "one, dos, tres, wato, cinco!"

Um, what just happened?????

Chuck and I are laughing out of sheer amazement. Delaney thinks that's cool.

We ask her, specifically, to count her tater tots IN SPANISH. Points at each piece, and says "one, dos, tres, wato (which I can only assume is quatro), cinco!"

Seriously, that is cool.

The only other Spanish word we've ever heard her speak is "sube", which my minimal spanish tells me (i.e. the spanish to english translator from yahoo search) means climb/rises. A popular word on "Go, Diego, Go" when Linda the Llama is going up a hill. Delaney uses it when she climbs onto the couches, somedays she says "climb" others she says "sube." I don't have any doubts she knows we speak English, but I think it's pretty neat she's learned that on "Dora the Explorer" and Go, Diego, Go!"

We went to see the dolphins

The weather was gorgeous this weekend, so we took a day and went to Sea World with our annual passes. Made the mistake of telling Delaney we were going to see the dolphins and paid for it dearly by listening to a 45 minute car ride of "dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins"....you get the idea. Even though it was disgustingly hot, we did have fun!

Checking out the turtles

Then we had a very short visit with the stingrays
Is it Jaws???
Nope, just the dolphins!
Delaney's favorite part -- the underwater viewing of the dolphins!
Cool picture!!

Off to see Clyde & Seamore


Back to the dolphins

101 in 1001

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

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So I've jumped on the bandwagon, spent last night and nap time today making my list, and I am actually really, really excited about some of the things on my list!! I'll put a quick link in my side tab to this post for easy reference to my full list, and of course will be updating as items are crossed off. Some will make mention in my posts as accomplishments (i.e. #25, #29), others will be mentioned in a regular blog entry (i.e. #62) and others will probably only be updated on the list (i.e. #90). I hope I can maintain my excitement for this project throughout it's duration! Completed tasks will be changed to purple font, tasks in progress will be green.


Start date: September 5, 2008
End date: June 3, 2011


Home

1. Buy an external hard drive for pictures.
2. Purge file cabinet every 6 months. (1/6)
3. Buy a full-length mirror for the master bathroom.
4. Buy rugs for the master bathroom.
5. Put curtains over master bath windows.
6. Tile master bathroom.
7. Paint Delaney’s bathroom.
8. Tile Delaney’s bathroom.
9. Paint master bedroom.
10. Get a master bedroom set.
11. Put curtains in master bedroom.
12. Buy Delaney a big girl bedroom set.
13. Buy Delaney big girl bedding.
14. Lay new flooring in the dining room.
15. Replace trim in dining room.
16. Buy a hutch for the dining room.
17. Purchase frames for the dining room.
18. Order pictures for dining room frames, fill and hang.
19. Tile kitchen.
20. Buy or build 2 end tables for the living room. (xmas gift from my parents -- dad built!)
21.Hang “star” lights on the porch.
22. Build a shelf in the shed.
23. Organize the shed.
24. Get rid of the weeds in our lawn.
25. Fence in the backyard.
26. Have/participate in a garage sale.
27. Weed flowerbeds around the house 2 times a year. (1/6)
28. Mulch around the house.

Hobbies

29. Finish sand castle cross-stitch.
30. Mat, frame & hang sand castle cross-stitch.
31. Finish 2 copies of “Darcy/Nadia” scrapbook. (0/2)
32. Buy 2 new scrapbooks to separate wedding scrapbook into.
33. Scrapbook Delaney’s 1st year.
34. Organize and sell scrapbook clutter.
35. Set up Etsy shop in spare bedroom.
36. Buy a photo album and fill with Darcy/Chuck pictures.
37. Order prints from Winkflash 2 times a year. (0/6)
38. Organize prints into albums 2 times a year. (0/6)
39. Read 50 new books. (6/50)
40. Maintain my blog.
41. Turn a bowl or vase on the lathe.
42. Help Aunt Janice transfer VHS onto DVD’s and make copies for the family.
43. Have a booth at 2 craft shows. (0/2)
44. Buy a digital SLR.
45. Take a photography class.
46. Sew 2 dresses/ outfits for Delaney. (0/2)
47. Sew myself a purse or tote using my old shower curtain.

Financial

48. Pay off credit card.
49. Switch to credit card with better rewards.
50. Build up our savings to 10% of our annual income.

Marriage

51. See a movie in the theatre 3 x a year. (0/9)
52. Instill “Date Night at Home” 1 time a month. (3/34) -- died over Christmas
53. Play Wii with Chuck 1 hour a week. (5/143) -- died over Christmas
54. Say “I love you” 1 x a day. (129/1001)
55. *private*

Travel

56. Travel somewhere neither Chuck or I have visited before.
57. Take a trip to celebrate our 5-year wedding anniversary.
58. Take a mini-vacation once a year. (0/3)
59. Take a trip to Key West.
60. Take a trip to visit Nadia.

Family

61. Cook 1 new meal a month. (4/34)
62. Go to the beach at least 4 times a year. (0/12)
63. Spend 2 days a month doing what Delaney wants to do all day long. (5/68)
64. Get Delaney’s pictures taken for her birthday every year. (1/3)
65. Take family pictures every year. (1/3)
66. Go to the zoo.
67. Take Delaney to the park once a month. (3/34)
68. Go to the county fair.
69. Send my brother a care package.
70. Take Delaney to Disney World before she turns 3.
71. Go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas.
72. Go to “Light Up Mount Dora” at Christmas. did in 2008
73. Attend a Christmas parade every year. (0/3)
74. Send Christmas cards to family and friends with pictures and a newsletter every year. (1/3)
75. Cook “Christmas Casserole” each year on Christmas morning. (1/3)
76. Create a copy of the family tree book from my dad.
77. Go strawberry picking.
78. Go orange picking.
79. Make fresh squeezed orange juice.
80. Go on a hay ride.
81. Grow & use fresh herbs.

Personal Health

82. Stop biting my fingernails.
83. Get a pedicure yearly. (0/3)
84. Get a massage.
85. Relax in the tub 1 x a week. (16/143)
86. Paint my toenails once a month. (4/34)
87. Work only 1 weeknight a week, or reduce my work schedule to 4 days a week.
88. Drink 2 glasses of water a day for a month.
89. Take multivitamin daily. (77/1001)
90. Floss 2 x a week. (5/143)
91. Visit the dentist 2 times a year. (1/6)
92. Make an eye appointment.

Be Good to Others

93. Start using reusable grocery bags when I shop.
94. Participate in the “March for Babies” annually. (0/3)
95. Bake cookies and deliver to Winnie Palmer NICU on December 11th annually. (0/3)
96. Donate unsold items to Goodwill.
97. Knit 10 hats for NICU babies. (0/10)

Friends

98. Participate in a cookie swap.
99. Attend 10 “Girls Night Out”. (0/10)
100. Attend 10 year high school reunion.
101. Meet 2 new OLU girls. (0/2)