Three Weeks and Counting...

With the Nemo unveiling approaching, there is still so much to get done.

I have decided that it was time to get the whole house under control so I have started a mission to see if I can deep clean the whole house in preparation for the party. Over the course of the past two days I have managed to get a great deal accomplished... however, I have not been able to cross too many things off my list. Due to my self-diagnosed ADD I tend to work on multiple projects at once. So although I have managed to get a good number of things started, very few things have been finished.

However, I am not giving up. I have always said that you have to make a mess before it is truly clean and I am sticking to that. Once I cross something off the list, it will not only be completed, it will be done right. For example, I have "do laundry" on my list. I have managed to do several loads of laundry and have managed to fold it all, but until all of the laundry is done, I cannot cross it off the list.

The other advantage to taking my time with this deep clean is the fact that I can go through our stuff in preparation for the potential garage sale. Our neighborhood has two big garage sales a year. Unfortunately, they decided to have it the same weekend as the Nemo unveiling. So... depending on game time (which they still haven't set yet) we might be able to participate in the garage sale and maybe make a few bucks in the process... which is always nice.

The overall goal of everything is to be able to relax and enjoy the Nemo party in a few weeks without having to worry about the house being clean or ready. I am hoping for a relaxing day before hand prepping for the garage sale and making sure the party amazing.. and I am hoping I can cross a few more things off my list before the end of the day.

This is why I make lists...

This is why I make lists.....

I know there are many of you out there that do not understand why some of us make lists... however, the picture I posted above is the best way I know how to explain it. This list of Nemo characters was made back in April. This list of 24 characters and objects (if you are counting there are multiple poles and seagulls), this list slowly but surely kept me on track as I worked through the painting needed for the Nemo Room to be complete. Every time I got to cross something off the list, I knew I was one step closer to reaching my goal.

Now, as I look at the completed list with everything crossed off I have a full sense of accomplishment. I can see the work I have achieved and I can visualize my progress. Can this be done without a list? Of course it can... but as I look at this list, its not just about the items that were crossed off. Its about the memories of the journey and remembering the feeling each time I got to find one of my pencils so I could cross it off.

Having a list sometimes reminds you of the work that's ahead, but it also can work as the pathway to the success you are looking for...

One month from yesterday, the Nemo Room will be unveiled...

So close... I can feel it...

As I have mentioned before, I have set a goal for myself in an effort to complete the Nemo room by a certain date... As that date quickly approaches (two weeks) I realize that there is still so much to be done. Now, I know what you are thinking... two weeks? I thought the unveiling was in October... It is... I have set a painting goal for myself to be complete in two weeks so that it will not overlap into the upcoming school year. We still have to build all of the furniture and that will take some time.

In terms of painting, I only have two smaller characters (Peach & Bloat) and one larger character (Nigel) left and for the most part, Peach is complete with the exception of her face. Bloat has a base coat, but he needs some attention... and then there's Nigel. Not only is he as big as Crush, for the life of me I cannot seem to get his body shape to be proportionate to his head. He is going to be a lot of work over the course of many days I am sure, but in the end it will all be worth it.

I cannot wait to unveil this room to everyone and I am hoping that its pure level of awesome is achieved. I have been working so hard on this project that I know it will be time well spent when it all comes together.

UCF vs SMU presents the Nemo Room

...Coming this October...

And the scores are in...

Although I did not receive an email letting me know that my scores were ready, I have been checking the AP Score Report website anxiously and today the report was available for viewing.

and the pass rate is... 33%.

I am content with this percentage. Now some of you may be thinking to yourself... but didn't that go down by 33% from last year? The answer is yes, BUT, you have to consider the fact that when you only have 6 students total, every score changes the percentages significantly. It would be a different story if there were 30 or 40 students with scores to average out, but with 6, the numbers can be misleading.

I am proud of the work my students accomplished this year and I am looking forward to see all of the amazing work to come from my students in this upcoming school year.

Cruisin' to 30th...

Just as I was taking the picture the wind blew...

It was rainy, it was muddy, and it was fabulous...

Punchliners Comedy Club...

Every cruise must start with a tuna fish sandwich from the deli

How adorable are we??

Well, we have returned...

This past week has been filled with so much relaxing I cannot even begin to explain how many naps I took. Normally when we go on cruises, it is our mission to obliterate all of the trivia competition and make them realize the level of pure awesome that flows through our brains. However, this time around we decided to approach our cruise from a different standpoint... no schedules. In the past each hour's location was dictated by the trivia event and we spent so much time and energy focused on a schedule that by the time the cruise was over we were still exhausted. So we made a conscious effort to do as little as possible on this cruise and I must say we were extremely successful.

One of the things we did do however was an ATV Jungle excursion in Cozumel. When we got off the ship in Cozumel we met our guide and the first thing he says is, "Its been raining for the past 3 or 4 days so is it okay that you are going to get dirty?" Ricky and I look at each with giant grins and say, "Absolutely!" It was such a blast. I was a bit hesitant at first because I had never driven an ATV before, but fortunately the guide showed me how to keep it in one gear so I didn't have to worry about shifting. Now I know some of you may say that shifting is half the fun... however... I have always driven an automatic and have no idea how to deal with shifting so it helped ease my nerves. Once I became adjusted I was good to go. The entire trail was a giant mud lake and we splashed through it like there was no tomorrow. Ricky even tried to stop in front of my in a mud lake and rev up his ATV in an attempt to splash mud on me... it didn't work... I was on to his plan. Half way through our excursion it started to pour. EVEN BETTER! Now, we not only had mud splashing everywhere, but now we were dodging rain drops and steam. I think out of every passenger on our ship, Ricky and I had the best time on our excursion. The weather was wonderful and it was worth every minute.

We truly had a relaxing vacation. Some much rest and so much time to just do nothing is truly nice to have every once and awhile.

Although we are now faced with a giant suitcase filled with dirty laundry and the realization that our beds will no longer be made ever morning, we have returned to the excitement of our 4th of July celebration and the continuation of Ricky's 30th birthday extravaganza.

Champions "Mud" Bash... ???

With few exceptions, this is where most of the mud was located

Nothing like jumping over a little fire...

Check us out! Team TLCF still fresh and clean prior to the festivities

All clean... for now...

Some of us got a little dirty I would say... I was hoping for caked mud...apparently not so much

Last Saturday was the day for the Champions Mud Bash in St. Cloud. I've been looking forward to this for awhile because I have heard so many great things about these types of events. I was so ready to be caked in mud from head to toe especially since it rained yesterday... however, the day was not exactly what I expected...

I arrived fairly early, the location was not very difficult to find. The weather was great and it rained for almost the entire evening the night before. The prospect for mud was high and I was ready to get dirty. Team TLCF (Ty Lewis Cancer Foundation) was decked out in our glorious pink tank tops in honor of the fact that the event was designed to raise money for Save the Ta Tas and the people around us were taking notice. I suppose it helps when you have several strapping lads donning their tight pink tank tops with phrases such as "Boobs, not just for breakfast". Our wave wasn't starting until 10AM so we wandered around to see the other contestants and their costumes as well as watch people cross the finish line. Based on the mud pool that we saw at the end, we were excited about the race to come.

As our time arrived, we lined up and got ready for the event. Chris was ready with 4 cameras in hand and we were revving up to go. Once the starter yelled go we were off... through a mine field of cow patties... yeah... poop... Aside from attempting to avoid all of the poop you were also running through trees that had these giant root systems sticking out of the ground. Right and left people were rolling ankles and tripping over heaven only knows what. I ran the first little stretch thinking I would be okay after making it through the trees because we were approaching an open field. Unfortunately, the open field was more treacherous than the trees were. Since it was grown over with grass you couldn't see the divots, holes, and other uneven elements in the ground so every step you took was a 50/50 shot that your foot was going to land level. It was at that point that I decided to walk. I am not the most graceful individual in the world and I was not about to roll my ankle right before we get on a cruise. Fortunately, I had wonderful company to walk with. (KP, Jake, Stacy & Sarge)

After deciding to walk, we started to reach obstacles that included, haystacks, large tires, and lines of flags that we had to step over. Anyone know where the mud is? I signed up for a mud bash, not a hay bash. There were a few obstacles that included mud along the way, but they were few and far between. People running the race were so desperate to get muddy that whenever they saw mud they would pick it up and smear it all over themselves. That's how low the mud count was for this race.

Now, there were two obstacles that were at least fairly enjoyable. They had a giant slip n slide set up that went down a hill and into a lake. It was definitely a blasting diving down that thing and into some mud and water. Especially since it was so incredibly hot by that point. The other obstacle was the trench of mud at the end. I suppose that you should actually have muddy people crossing the finish line, and to be honest that particular obstacle was a lot of fun.

I think the worst part about the lack of mud was the fact that there was just enough mud to be annoying. If you are going to an event that advertises mud obstacles, you expect to get caked in mud head to toe and just get nasty. At this particular event, you would get a little wet, and dry by the time you got to the next obstacle that actually had mud involved and all that was gross was your shoes and socks.

Overall, I was disappointed about the mud factor, but I had a good day because I got to spend time with my wonderful bootcamp family. Any event with them is a good event and although the mud was missing from the mud bash, it was still a successful day in the sun.

I am NOT the Rebel Spy...

Today Ricky, Tammy, Toni, and I all went to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the morning/afternoon. This was mainly due to the fact that I was the only one of the group that had not been on the new Star Tours since it reopened. I was excited because it was a new ride, but I was also hesitant because even with the changes, it was still a motion-based ride that had a screen. The older version of Star Tours managed to make my stomach a bit queasy previously, but I was told that this newer version was much more motion sick friendly... Being someone who suffers from motion sickness, this news was music to my ears. I must admit I was skeptical, but I was willing to give it a whirl.

Since we got Fast Passes for the ride, I did not get to fully appreciate the changes that have been made in the queue, however, Ricky did point out a few things as we sped through the line. I didn't mind missing the line at least this time around. Before entering the one thing I will say is that the glasses are much better now than the older ones. They work very well with the projection and the interaction is very well done. However, the real question is whether or not this newer version quells motion sickness... the answer is kind of... For those with motion sickness this ride does offer a bit more relief than the previous film, mainly because the images are clearer and do not blur like the old projector. Unfortunately, the ride still contained a few issues: air circulation and location. For me personally, motion sickness is reduced with air circulation. Since the air was not turned up at all, the air in the pod was very still and warm. This made the affects of the movement worse. The other issue I had was something that will never be fixed on Star Tours... and that is the warp speed shoots through space. For some reason my motion sickness peaks when they jump in and out of warp speed. I have no idea why, but even with the better projectors, my stomach still did a cartwheel or two.


Over all it was a good day in the park and since we left in the early afternoon the rain and humidity were just beginning so we managed to stay relatively dry. The crowds were also fairly calm and it seemed like a good day to be in the touristy areas... Besides... although we didn't spend the entire day in the park, ending the day with 4Rivers BBQ and going to see XMen First Class was definitely a good option.

Ruth 2 - Nemo Closet 0

Today I managed to get all of the holes filled in the Nemo closet. They fought a good battle, but in the end, I came out on top yet again.

I purchased the drydex Spackle that is pink when you first open the container. As it dries, the Spackle turned white letting you know when it is ready to be painted and/or sanded. Its smells terrible, but its nice not having to touch the Spackle to see if its completely dry. Although I must say, its a little strange as it dries because it looks like the wall has a rash. Part of it is pink and the other is white. Its even worse when you have a wall color that is close to a skin tone... then its just plain creepy.


After I spackled the closet, I managed to get a few base coats done today. I bet you can't tell what they are.... well actually if you can't then you really need to see Finding Nemo again. I am waiting for the base coats to dry before I go in to do the detail work, but I have been trying to get all of the base coats on the walls first so that I can work on whichever character I want to work on. I know I have made myself a schedule and I plan on sticking to it as much as possible, but realistically I may not want to work on the exact character I listed a month ago. So I figure that as long as I do a character that is equal in size or larger, I will still be on track. These guys are actually going to be one of the quickest, hence the reason there are three of them.

I am so excited that I'm really going to be able to focus my attention on the Nemo room now that the school year is over. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do, but I have been wanting to do this room for a very long time and its finally starting to come together. What a great summer this is going to be!

There's nothing wrong with fluff...

Pills and Sprays, and Topical Lotion... Oh My...

So today was the day that Oliver went in for his one year check up. Granted, Oliver's birthday is in March, but since we adopted him in June, our years fall around now.

We can officially say now that Oliver is a whopping 83 pounds and is a very healthy doggy. According to the vet, Oliver is in the correct weight range for a dog his size. He should maintain his weight between 80 to 85 pounds so he is sitting right in the middle of that. Overall, though he seems to be in great physical health. They even commented about the fact that he has very nice and healthy teeth.


Unfortunately, our dog takes after us more than we thought. Our pups has allergies. The vet seems to think that Oliver is allergic to grass and that is causing his scratching and itching problems. So we have a slew of items to use on our pups now to see if he is indeed allergic to grass. We have pills that he has to take twice a day, a spray that goes on his paws and underbelly, and a special medicated shampoo that is supposed to help with his itchiness. We also received some ear cleaner and ear drops for the pups in order to help clean the gunk out of Oliver's ears and his flea, tick, and heart worm medication. All in all I think Ricky felt like he had just gone on a shopping spree with all of the goodies he left with. Fortunately for us, Oliver eats pills like they are candy and doesn't mind the rest of the treatments so he is fairly easy to work with when it comes to these sorts of things.

We have a healthy and adorable pups and when all is said and done a few allergy issues aren't that big of a deal. There are far worse things that could cause issues with a pup and so far Oliver has managed to grow up nice and healthy. So assuming the allergy remedies are working we will see the vet again in a year.

Ruth 1 - Nemo Closet 0

Check out the destruction caused by the epic battle...

More damage...

In case you ever wanted to know what the ridiculous brackets look like for those wire fixtures,
here you go... Great for stability, not so great for removal...

Take that you silly closet...

As I have mentioned before, I really dislike those wire closet fixtures. Aesthetically speaking, I was never really a fan because things would fall through the slats and and it is just a mess. However, recently my dislike has grown to annoyance and hatred due to the fact that I could not for the life of me remove the fixtures from the wall in the Nemo closet. Ricky is going to build a closet organizer for that room and I was going to paint the inside to match the room, but those brackets were staring us in the face and laughing...

However...

Today I prepared myself for battle. I do not know where the fearless attitude or the rush of adrenaline came from, but I was going in there with a screwdriver in hand and I was not coming out until I was successful. Since we attempted to use the drill the last time, I decided to go old school and use a hand held screwdriver. I figured if the screws weren't coming out normally, I would use some leverage to pop them out of the wall. The first bracket was one of the hardest. Since the brackets and anchors are one and the same, I had to determine which was the anchors were adhering themselves to the wall. They had these prongs that went in two directions on the inside of the drywall. I can understand the benefit of those prongs for the fixtures stability, but trying to get them out is next to impossible. So, I had to do a number on the drywall to attempt to yank this thing out. I pulled and pulled and eventually the hole I was creating in the drywall was large enough to work the bracket out. Now I had the advantage. I now held the secret to the brackets and their stupid anchors because I knew which way they went into the wall. With this key piece of intel I managed to work the rest of them out fairly quickly because I could wiggle them in the correct direction to try to get the prongs to close and come through a smaller hole. Once I managed to get those out there was just one more obstacle in the way... the large side brackets that held the shelf in place.

These brackets were a bit more daunting because they really didn't have too many weak points that I could use to get underneath. We tried using the drill previously on one side to get the screws out, but just like the smaller brackets that concept did not work. However, as fate would have it, using my hand held screwdriver, I managed to actually get one of the bottom screws out of the wall on the other side. From there I could pop out the anchor that was attached to that piece and then just pull the top one out. The left side I had to resort to a more primitive method... yanking. I just grabbed it and started twisting it until I loosened it enough to pry it off with the screwdriver. I guess I just had to summon my inner Hulk for that one.

In the end I managed to remove all of the brackets from that silly fixture and have added a large bucket of Spackle to the Home Depot shopping list. In the end, I must say that I still really dislike those wire closet fixtures, but nothing is going to get in the way of my goal of completing the Nemo Room by the end of the summer.

Two Weeks to Go.... And Counting...

Summer vacation is so close I can taste it....

Although I only have 7 school days with students and 9 school days total left, the next two weeks may feel like an eternity. This is mainly due to the fact that I want to focus on the Nemo Room soooo badly and soon, very soon I will get to. I've been patiently waiting and slowly progressing on the Nemo Room for over a year and now its finally going to take priority.

As many of you know, I tend to be OCD when it comes to planning. I have always been a planner and I love being able to get into the middle of it all to make sure that the perfectionist side of my personality has a chance to be fulfilled. For that reason, I have mapped out a schedule on my 2 x3 foot whiteboard that specifies what tasks in the Nemo Room I plan on accomplishing each week. I have also set a completion goal date for the room in the hopes of sticking to my schedule. However, I have written into the schedule the ability to change the order of weekly tasks around in order to accommodate for the days where the characters just aren't coming together.

This afternoon I started to get the feeling that something needed to be done in the Nemo Room. So I decided that I needed to lay out the rest of the characters so that I would know where they needed to be drawn. Hopefully, a portion of them will be drawn before bed this evening. However, I also decided to take out the wire closet fixtures... not a good idea. The plan is to remove the wire fixtures, paint the closet a slightly dark blue than the walls to contrast the depth and then Ricky will build an organizational system we designed inside the closet that is made of melamine. Unfortunately, the individual who designed the anchor system for those wire fixtures was a very mean mean person. The screws that go into the anchors will not come loose from the anchor so that we can remove them from the wall. So although I did managed to remove the bottom brackets and the shelf, the anchor connections remain in the wall for the time being. I am very close to just yanking and hoping for the best.

Another tedious task that I managed to cross off the list today was finding a picture of Nigel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the names of the Nemo characters, he is the pelican pictured at the beginning of this post. I found decent pictures of all of the Nemo characters online, but unfortunately, due to the odd shape of the one wall in the room, I need Nigel to be in a specific pose. For that reason, I had to watch Nemo in frame-by frame mode in order to take pictures with my cell phone that I could reference while I am drawing him... and yes I said take pictures with my cell phone. Unfortunately, the screen capture options do not work while a DVD is playing. I will say that watching a Pixar film in frame-by-frame really shows how many minute details they put into their work. In the end, I managed to capture some great images to use for the drawing and I can cross that task off the list.

Even with the closet fixture annoyance, I am still on schedule... (this is partially due to the fact that the schedule doesn't officially start until June 13th.) Any and all work completed prior to that date will just be added time for details in the end.

This is going to be such a great summer, I cannot wait for it to start... 9 days and counting...

Pixar, Pixar, and more PIXAR...

Jonas Rivera discussing the history of Pixar and how stories are developed

Jay Ward discussing the changes to the character design and character development for Cars 2

Jonas Rivera and Jay Ward

Jonas Rivera

Michael Giacchino discussing his methods for creating the music for films

Shawn Krause joins Jonas Rivera and Jay Ward on stage for a Q&A session at the end of the day

I think I may have gone into Pixar OD mode last weekend... and I loved every minute of it. Not only did we get to hear 4 of Pixar's own discuss different aspects of the company, but we also got to sit in the front row. It was such an amazing opportunity to actually hear the animators, musicians, producers, and the Cars Franchise Guardian discuss what its like to work for such a wonderful company and why they chose their path. They even asked Ricky's question to Michael Giacchino, which was extremely cool. (...and yes he is slated to do the music for the next Star Trek Movie)

It was such a great day and Ricky and I got to spend it together. I only wish my students could have heard them talk and to be able to hear the things I tell them from the actual source.

I certainly hope this event comes around again in the future.

What a long week...

This was a crazy week...

At the end of a school year, one would think that things start to wind down in anticipation for the summer, but this is not an accurate statement. Things not only start to pick up, but in actual fact, they start to get CRAZY...

Monday was a pretty normal day. I worked the average day and went to the gym in the evening. Let's consider this the calm before the storm...

Tuesday was the first of the crazy ones. After a full day at school, I went down to the auditorium foyer to help set up for the Edgewater Spring Arts Night. We had all of the groups represented from Guitar to Painting and Chorus to Computer Graphics. Unfortunately, Animation was left off of the party list this year. No screen to show my students work and no room to lay out all of their drawings. I feel bad that their work went unseen, but that just means that the morning announcements will be inundated with animation projects for most of next school year. Aside from the animation being left out, the night was a success. We had refreshments galore and it seems like everyone who attended had a good time.
Time of arrival to home... 8:30PM

Wednesday was another great day for the students at Edgewater. Wednesday night was the Senior Awards night where students are presented with scholarships and school based awards to recognize their achievements over their high school careers. After working a full day, I stayed at school to not only attend the ceremony, but I also presented the Departmental Award for the Visual Arts. It was such a lovely night as I watched many of my seniors walk across that stage to receive recognition. Two of my students received a scholarship for Art and Technology supplies and of course, most of them walked up for their Bright Futures Scholarship. I was very proud to see what they have accomplished and it just reminded me that they are leaving too soon.
Time of arrival at home... 9:15PM

Thursday night was the big one... the EHS Spring Football game against Wekiva. After working a full day, I went down to the partially renovated stadium to see our Eagles take on the Mustangs. When we first went out their, the sun was vicious and I thought that I was going to melt, however, it turned out to be a very lovely evening. At half time they retired Mike Sims-Walker's Jersey #21 and named him the first inductee of the Ring of Fire for Edgewater. Although I never taught him in high school (because I was still at UCF working on my degree), I was proud because he is also a UCF Alum. (Go Knights!)

Although the game started off badly with Wekiva scoring a touchdown right out of the gates, we ended up coming back and showing the Mustangs what we are made of with a solid win. I must say it is hard to keep track of the time and the score without a scoreboard, but it will be nice to see the new one installed.
Time of arrival at home... 10:45PM

After all of the festivities this week, I can honestly say that I haven't been this excited about a lazy weekend in a long time. Granted I loved being involved in all of the events and I was so proud of all of my students, I'm just glad I survived in one piece. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful opportunities and although I'm glad the weekend has arrived, I wouldn't have traded this week for anything.

A Motley Crew...

Kyle, Kevin Z, Sarge, Ricky, Tammy, KP, Me, & Eric after the 5K/10K Run, Walk, & Roll for Operation Giveback @ UCF on May 14th

Operation Giveback Run, Walk, & Roll

Yesterday we (Ricky, Me, Tammy, our Boot Camp Crew and about 1100 other people) participated in the Inaugural Run, Walk, & Roll 5k/10k for Operation Giveback at UCF. This organization was put together to help support the efforts of the Wounded Warrior Project which attempts to raise awareness and resources for wounded and disabled service
members.


Yesterday we participated in the Inaugural Run, Walk, & Roll 5k/10k for Operation Giveback at UCF. This organization was put together to help support the efforts of the Wounded Warrior Project which attempts to raise awareness and resources for wounded and disabled service members.


I finished in 43 minutes with a pace of 13:59. I finished 41st out of 50 in my age group and although it may not seem like an accomplishment, it s a considerable one. Normally, I average 15 minute miles, which is pretty slow. However, as you can see I managed to reduce my time by a minute... Now if we compare it to my pace in the half marathon that I did in February, I went from pacing a 17 minute mile to a 14 minute mile and that means I went faster by 3 minutes. I know that some of you may say, well the first half of your 1/2 marathon was probably the faster pace and the end averaged out your pace to be slower and you would be correct. But it just sounds nice to say that I dropped my pace time by 3 minutes.

Ricky was much braver than I was because he decided that he was going to do the 10k. He did very well and although I don't think he liked his time, he achieved his goal by finishing. This race also provided me with an interesting opportunity... I got to watch Ricky cross the finish line. Under normal circumstances, Ricky and I are running the same distance. Since he runs a faster pace than I do, he always finishes first. Fortunately, I decided that a 5k was enough for me, I finished before him and was able to watch him cross the line and cheer him on. It was definitely a cool experience.

Although I may not run fast, I participate in these events for my health and for the wonderful organizations they represent. I will never be a runner, but over the past 6 months I have proven to myself that I can run a half marathon, a 5k is a walk in the park, and no matter what your time ends up being, you are running, walking or rolling for a good cause.

If you are interested in more information you can check out their website at http://www.operation-giveback.com/ or check out their Facebook page.

News 13 Coverage of Operation Giveback Run, Walk & Roll

Now we wait... until July...

AP Portfolios have been officially submitted and are out of my hands and left to the powers that be. Can I just explain how much pressure has been lifted off my shoulders... if you need a visual its as if Oliver has jumped off my shoulders after pretending to be a parrot... its that awesome....

Now I know what you may be thinking... why do AP if its so much pressure and stress? Here's the thing, I love love love my AP students to death, the timeline can just be a bit of a crunch. Unlike other subjects, my students are working on their "exam" all year. Every piece of work is part of what they will be graded on and it can get frustrating for everyone involved. Fortunately, I am blessed with students who worked their butts off this year and managed to put together some good portfolios.

Now the waiting begins. I am hoping that I can find out my scores while I am at the AP Summer Institute in July, but it all depends on when the scores are ready. I have made my predictions, but I am not going to share because I do not want to jinx it. However, I will say that based on my predictions my pass rate could be anywhere from 40% to 100% depending on the year. Here's hoping for good things and a positive report in July.

Countdown Craziness...

Ok Ok...

So I may have gone a little overboard with the countdown tickers on the blog... but in my defense there is a lot going on this year that I am looking forward to. There are only 29 more days until my summer vacation begins and the Nemo Room extravaganza ensues. Not to mention the fact that we leave for a cruise in 56 days and in only 6 months we will be jet-setting toward Paradise Island in the Bahamas to see the Knights in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament.

Aside from all of those wonderful things we must also remember that I have combined all 3 of my blogs together so instead of having to peruse multiple blogs, anything and everything Currey is in one convenient location.... with that being said the weight loss ticker has just been justified as well. So there....

Pixar Weekend @ Epcot

How cool is this....

This year the theme of the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival revolves around the Pixar characters and apparently now they are going to have speakers from Pixar actually at Epcot to talk about the process of animation and their work... How cool is that??????

I have already signed us (Ricky and I) up to go and I am extremely excited. Granted I have registered us for somewhere close to 7 hours worth of lectures, but to get to hear the actual Pixar people speaking about their work should be incredible.

A huge thanks to Ricky for finding this information among his travels across the interwebs!!!

2011 = 30x2

Before you go and tell me that my math is entirely wrong, I am well aware of the glaring errors in my calculations... however considering that it is not a math problem at all, but instead of clever way to stating that, "In 2011 two people are turning 30," I'd say it does its job.

Both Ricky and I turn 30 this year and we have decided that the need to celebrate is stronger than ever. For those of you who experienced the Pirate Party many years back, you understand how fabulous a birthday can become. But unlike the Pirate Party we have decided that in order to celebrate our birthdays properly we needed two things: a 7 day cruise on a gigantic boat and UCF Basketball. You heard me... UCF basketball.

For Ricky's 30th birthday we will be setting sail on the big blue wet thing to destinations beyond the reaches of Florida in an effort to celebrate the past 30 years and to welcome in the years to come. We will be cruising on the Carnival Dream one of the newest and largest ships in the Carnival fleet and we cannot wait to head out. Exactly two months from today I will be mixing myself a fine cocktail of Dramamine and tasty tasty cruise food while ignoring Weight Watchers points and breathing in the fresh sea air while sitting on our private balcony.

For my birthday however, we decided to go for a more traditional option: family thanksgiving vacation to the Bahamas to watch the UCF Knights Basketball team compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. That's normal right? Needless to say I am excited. Not only are we going to spend the holidays with family, but we get to spend it on a tropical island while cheering on our alma mater as they take on teams like FSU, Harvard and UCONN.


One thing is for certain, I will not be shedding a tear over turning 30. Whoever said that turning 30 sucked obviously never met our travel agent... =)

It's all about the timing...

So here's the thing...

I know I have tried to keep the blogs going at miscellaneous points throughout the course of the year and I have continually tried to be more diligent in their maintenance, however, realistically it has not been in the cards. I think part of the problem is due to the fact that I was trying to maintain 3 blogs, none of which were getting the attention they deserved. So I have decided that the time has come to focus all of my efforts into one blog and perhaps the likelihood of it continuing may increase. My artist blog and my solid as a sponge blog will merge with Currey Creations and it will once again serve the purpose of providing information on everything Currey. What this also means is that I will be utilizing this mode of information transfer as the home of the Nemo updates and other such craziness. I cannot promise that I am going to be posting every day or even every week, but I am hoping that the frequency will increase significantly.