Happy Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

I can honestly say this has been the nicest weather this week to really get into the spirit of the season. As you walk outside your front door and smell the air, there is a hint of fireplaces burning, and nothing but fresh crisp air. It has been wonderful.

One of the things I was really looking forward to this year was handing out candy to the kids in our new neighborhood. I wanted to see all of the kids in there costumes and hear them yell, "Trick or Treat," but instead, I will be working this evening. Unfortunately, when filling out my availability for this week I forgot to leave off Friday night. So instead of seeing all of the adorable trick or treaters, I will be working... yay for me.

So for all of you who are going trick or treating tonight, or those of you who are handing out candy just hand out an extra piece for me... I suppose there is always next year.

Pumpkins Pumpkins Everywhere!

Our three pumpkins
(left to right: Kristine / Kenneth / Ruth)

Our three pumpkins again...

Kenneth's Ghost Pumpkin

I think we all did a pretty good job on our pumpkins this year, if I do say so myself.

Halloween Dinner & A Movie @ the Currey House

Goodie Bags made for the kids... these included glow stick necklaces which went over very well

Alana and Emma playing on our rug

Ricky & I at our Halloween Dinner and a Movie night

The Thomas Family joining us for the evening

Alana and Emma once they started to get a little chilly and a little sleepy

Tonight we decided to invite a few friends over for a kid friendly Halloween Dinner and a Movie Night. We had 7 people join us this evening including Gary & Barb, David & Annika, Rachel and two little ones Alana and Emma.

For dinner, I made 2 homemade lasagnas, Cesar salad, garlic bread, and your choice of beverage (including juice boxes for the kids with Sesame Street characters on the boxes). During dinner we watched It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and a mixture of Mickey Mouse cartoons including Lonesome Ghosts, a classic Halloween Disney cartoon. After dinner, we watched Casper (the version with Bill Pullman, Eric Idle, and Christina Ricci). Its rated PG, but to be honest, its really not all that bad. I think they curse once or twice. The girls loved to dance to the music at the end (which just happens to be Casper the Friendly Ghost).

For dessert, we had everything from Halloween cookies, a plethora of candy... and did I mention candy?? I also made goodie bags for the kids that included candy, stickers, Halloween slinkies and even orange glow stick necklaces. I opened up two of the necklaces and put them together for the girls. They were a HUGE hit! We had the lights down low because we were watching the movie, but every time we tried to turn the lights back on, the girls would want the lights off so that their necklaces would glow. Each of the girls were also given mini pumpkins with their names on it, which they also seemed to enjoy. At one point, they had the pumpkins on top of their heads.

Over all, I think the evening was a great success, everyone had a great meal, great Halloween movies, and great company. I think we might have to have one around Christmas time too.

Pumpkin Carving Attempt #2

Much better this time if I do say so myself... Its funny because when I decided to do the Lego people for our wedding I had the same dilemma. The first time I tried it they came out looking horrible. One was lopsided and the other looked like a pyramid. As most of you know, they ended up looking wonderful, but I had to keep at it and eventually it worked. The same went for this pumpkin carving. Granted, its not nearly as good as the ones we saw on the Internet, this one is still pretty good (especially since I am not overly talented at 3D sculpture)

Here's to trying something new...

Pumpkin Carving Attempt #1

Ok.. so I am determined to carve out a really cool design into the side of a pumpkin. Ricky found all of these really cool images of carved pumpkins online and I decided that I could do that too.. after all, I built my lego bride and groom from scratch. Yeah.. so .. I tried really hard, but it didn't go so well.

So off to attempt #2... hopefully the second one will come out better than the first, but I suppose I had to start somewhere... wish me luck

*Just as an update... the innards of the first pumpkin were sacrificed for roasted pumpkin seeds... *CUE TAPS*

Get ready to be shocked and amazed...

Well... it is official... As of Saturday October 25th, I will once again be employed by Best Buy. I know that most of your jaws just dropped in disbelief and confusion, but it is true... have NET (training) on Saturday.

Some of you may ask what has brought me to this decision and my answer would be, bills. Unfortunately, with the economy being what it is currently, and the budget crisis in education continuing to be the bane of my existence, I need to do something to help with our expenses. To be honest, Best Buy is really not a bad place to work and besides, with school starting in the spring, it will be nice to have a part time job to help with the expenses there as well.

Don't worry though... I do not believe this is the ultimate fix nor do I think this will be permanent, but what I do know is that I am going to get to work with a GREAT group of people and now I will be able to once again contribute to our family's cause.

HOLY CRAP!!!

FROM WORST TO FIRST!
The Tampa Bay Rays are headed to the World Series!
Phillies here we come!

Hand-Crafted Holiday Gifts

It's that time again.. time to start thinking about Christmas and holiday gifts. I know I know.. most of you are saying, "But Halloween hasn't even passed yet." This is true, but coming from someone who produces certain gifts versus buying them, the work takes a bit of time to complete.

NOW... if there is anyone who would like a painting done for one of their loved ones for the holidays just let me know and I will make sure set up everything with you. Remember they do take some time to paint and to dry, but we can work out a time table without any problem.

Also.. a friend of mine creates beautiful quilts, blankets, quillows, and bags. She creates them in different styles, designs, and sizes. I believe she can even personalize them for you. If you are in the market for artisan-crafted quilted products you should check out her blog at:

http://sewinbarb.blogspot.com

I know she will be able to give you those beautiful hand-crafted gifts you have been looking for.

Pilot Testing come to a close...again...

Although I have said this before.. Pilot testing is over (at least for this session!) Now if you are confused as to my tone, well its because it can go either way. On one hand, pilot testing is easy money for very little time, but on the other hand, you have to sit and take tests over and over again. Don't get me wrong, I have every intention of doing them again when it starts, but when the sessions are at least stopping for a while it is a nice calm feeling. The best feeling though is when you get that check in the mail like I did today... those are the good days.

Assuming I receive all of my checks (which I have always received them in the past), I have officially gotten one step closer to my laptop purchase. I know what you are thinking though... doesn't the Currey household already have like 4 computers?? Well, pretty much, but we also must take into account the fact that my current desktop is approaching 7 years old. Granted, it has been upgraded a few times and the video card has been changed a least 3 times (so I could play WOW) but it is still old in computer years. So... its out with the old and in with the MAC.

The dreaded Immunization Form...

So now having been accepted to UCF for grad school, the next step of the process is to have my immunization form completed so that I can register for classes. All you have to do is write in the information of the basic immunization information (MMR, chicken pox, Hepatitis etc) and have the doctor's office sign off and stamp the form. I took my paperwork to the doctor that I typically go to here in Orlando with my info written on it, and was going to have them give me a tetnus booster. Unfortunately, after waiting 45 minutes, they told me I had to get my doctor to fax the copies of all of my records before they could sign or stamp the form.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't seem like such a big deal, but the problem I am having is that both of my doctors have retired. When I first went to college, my pediatrician filled out my form and it was turned into UCF. Since then, my pediatrician retired years ago and his office is now a dentist's office, and my other doctor (who I don't think I ever saw) retired recently and his practice has been taken over. So I was in a panic about what I was going to have to do to find these records.

So in a panic, I called my mom to see what I should do. And of course she gave me the best and most logical advice right off the bat. Call UCF. Now.. why didn't I think of that... oh that's right... I was panicking too much and running around like the world was coming to an end.

So needless to say, I called UCF and they still had my information on file and everything worked out in the end. It jut goes to prove that mothers have that level headed thinking needed to move through any situation when their daughters are overreacting and hyperventilating all at the same time.

Ricky can write... who knew...

Ricky was given the opportunity to go to a tournament today and actually report on the overall scoring of the day. The tournament was part of the Golf Channel Amateur Tour which was held at Grand Cypress (among others) and Ricky got to spend a good portion of his day with the players and teams.

With a little help from the grammar and language expert in the house, Ricky wrote a very nice and concise piece for the Golf Channel Website. Here is the link to check out Ricky's work:

http://www.thegolfchannel.com/core.aspx?page=15100&select=27567

Deliciousness!

Oh how we love Dixie Crossroads

Congratulations Ashley & Bryan!

On our way to the reception

Ashley & I.. she looked beautiful!

Patrick volunteering me to dance...

Part of the quilt... and a very cute idea

Ricky enjoying some cake

Yesterday, Ricky and I attended Ashley and Bryan wedding and I must say, it was a very enjoyable evening. For those of you who are unaware of this exciting and ironic situation, Bryan and Ashley are the ones who ended up doing the garter and bouquet at our wedding. Who says that tradition doesn't work. I told them that every time we show off our wedding album, we tell people that story.

They got married in a Presbyterian church in Lake Mary which was the perfect size. The decorations were gorgeous and everyone looked spectacular. The color scheme was also wonderful. All of the girls were wearing pink (like a rose pink) as well as the guys, but Ashley and Bryan were accented with sage green. The flowers were a combination of all of those colors and everything was beautiful.

Th reception was held downtown at the Regional History Center. Now I have been in Orlando for 8 years and I didn't know we had a History Center. But.. now that I know, I plan on attending an exhibit in the spring dealing with Jim Henson and his puppets. Now back to the wedding...It was a beautiful location and an interesting one at the same time. We had the cocktail hour in the lobby and then went up for dinner and dancing in a private room. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was wonderful. I was able to dance with Patrick and all of us were coerced into doing the chicken dance.

Now, many times, people will have you sign a matte for a framed picture for a keepsake. The idea that they had was to cut out quilting squares and have everyone write messages on them. Then they are actually going to be turned into a quilt. I just thought that was such a great idea. We of course designed one and I drew legos on it... I mean I couldn't help myself.

One of the things we didn't realize was that their first dance as a couple was at our wedding as well. They danced for the first time to "Unforgettable" so as a slight shout out to that event, it was their last dance at their wedding. I thought it was absolutely wonderful! The other funny thing that we found out was the fact that they still had the little lego house they built at our wedding in their bedroom. How amazingly cute!

Over all it was a beautiful wedding and a wonderful reception. I got to see some old friends that I have been missing and we got to share in Bryan and Ashley's special day. I wish them nothing but the best and I know they are looking forward to a lifetime of happy memories together.

GUESS WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

Imagine if you will a person doing a dance in their living room, all by themselves when they think no one is watching (Risky Business style). Now imagine that person has no rhythm and cannot control their excitement. If you can picture this hilarity then you are seeing what I am doing right now at 11:59 this evening. Why would a person be doing this you might ask... well...

I have been accepted to Grad School at UCF!!!!!!

After the craziness with my transcripts, I had regained access to MyUCF portal. Within the portal, they have a section to give you your application status. I had been keeping an eye on it to make sure that they were able to get my transcripts and sure enough it was there. I was just doing my routine check and it was there! Underneath the statement of acceptance, they stated that they will be getting a hold of me formally soon with more info.

Now, any extra prayers that we have we need to send to Tammy and Barb in an effort to speed up their acceptances too! I have no doubt they will be accepted, but all I have to say is, UCF School of Education... HERE WE COME!

I got it straightened out..

Just to let everyone know, I got everything figured out with UCF and my transcripts.. so now we play the waiting game some more until I receive an acceptance letter (hopefully). The good news at least is that I did get everything figured out. The long and short of it all is that I need to go to UCF to change my name on my official transcripts and other "official" records. Apparently, when I thought my name was changed on everything, it was just changed on my mailing address. So tomorrow I will be heading to UCF to change my name and make everything "official."

Update on Grad School...

Well, today I received an email from UCF stating my application was incomplete. Confused by this email, I followed the directions and attempted to enter the MyUCF portal. If you are an applicant that has never attended UCF before, it is easy to gain access to the portal, but since I graduated over 3 years ago, I didn't remember my password. I remembered my PID because I had used it as a password in the past, but I had to change my password so many times, I couldn't remember what it was. So I click on forgot my password and what do they ask for??? My UCF ID card number... Let me reiterate that I graduated 3 years ago. BUT fortunately for me I am a pack rat and I still had it.

Once I get into the portal, I find out that the reason my application is incomplete is because they are missing my Bachelor's Degree transcripts. Oh yes.. you read it right.. I am missing my UCF transcripts for my UCF grad application. The only thing I can assume is that they looked up my transcripts by my name instead of my SSN.

Either way, I emailed them back to let them know that I believe they have my transcripts on file, and now we wait again. I jus hope that this doesn' delay my acceptance any longer. I would like to start to make preparations sooner rather than later, but we shall see.

Put one in the W column...

The Girls at the UCF game (my mom, me, my aunt)

Ricky & I before the SMU game

How cool is that shirt?

Ricky & I half way through

UCF WINS!!

UCF SENDS THE MUSTANGS BACK TO TEXAS
(31-17)

Three words/phrases to describe this game would be:
Hot, Hilarious Play, & Fair Catch?

Well, we finally won another game.. thank goodness. And just to add icing to the cake.. we scored in the 3rd quarter. Aside from the extremely bad calls by the refs, and the hilarious play that didn't even score any points, I must admit it was quite an interesting game. The worst call of them all was when the refs called a Fair Catch on Joe Burnett without him actually calling the fair catch. Last time I checked, you had to signal for a fair catch, but what do I know? Fortunately, we won, but we would not have been happy if that was the play that could have turned it around.

My mom and my aunt were able to join us at the game this week because one of Ricky's bosses wasn't going to use his season tickets. Fortunately, we were all able to sit relatively close because they didn't sell out all of the seats in our section. It was a good time had by all (even in the heat).

After the game, we had post tailgating. We grilled burgers and chicken, and we were joined by my cousin Henry and his girlfriend Lena. It was nice to see everyone again since it had been a while since I had seen Henry. We chatted for awhile and managed to stay up well past our bedtime. Needless to say, we slept in this morning, but it was worth the late night last night.

I voted and so should you!

I officially finished my absentee ballot today and it is going out in the mail tomorrow. No matter what anyone says.. everyone needs to vote. Whether you are using an absentee ballot, early voting, or going to vote on November 4th, VOTE VOTE VOTE. Things cannot change without your votes.