September 14, 2009, 9:16 am

Stop by Peggy's for more entries.

Outside my Window...
Crabs, loads and loads of tiny crabs. September always brings little crabs to land. We always used to say one needed to carry a golf club to walk up to the showerhouse at the marina, just to clear the walkway of all these little golf ball sized crabs! Mia is totally distracted on her walks now. She adores playing with the crabs. She looks like a meerkat playing with a scorpion.


Sleepy Mia

I am thinking...
about clothes actually. I'm attending my very first Chief Petty Officer's Khaki Ball on Friday. After much discussion this past weekend I think it has been determined that a tea length gown would be most appropriate. A Girl's Night is being planned this week with the goal of finding a dress, so here's hoping for success! Shopping in Key West is always an adventure...

I am wearing ...
currently khaki shorts and a Schooner's Wharf tee that I won in a conch blowing contest.

I am thankful for...
time spent with my husband this past weekend.

From the kitchen...
I think that today is the Triumph of the Cross and I just happen to have a basil plant that desperately needs trimming. Supposedly the hill Saint Helena found the Cross on was covered in basil. Mahimahi is on sale this week too, and the Ember Days are upon us again so some menu planning needs to happen this morning! I found Jen at Wildflowers and Marbles plans last year to be comprehensive and inspiring.

Towards a Real Education...
Marianna's homework this weekend was a poster using two art materials illustrating 3 Tom Swifties from Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie and one original Tom Swifty by Marianna. She chose colored ink and mulberry paper for her materials.

I am creating...
a house that is a home.

I am reading...
Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher Staples

Around the home...
My passionflower vine is blooming!

One of my favorite things...
Last Friday we participated in a NASKW 9/11 Memorial Motorcycle Ride up to Marathon stopping at all the Police and Fire Stations to thank them for their service and deliver a poster signed by all the participants.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Busy, busy week! Tuesday will be the Girls Night Out, Wednesday is the Pinning Ceremony for the Chief Selectees and I work in the evening and it's an Ember Day. Thursday I'll work the night shift again and it's the first day of the Peterson's Poker Run so we might drop down to Duval to see some of the bikes. Friday is the Khaki Ball, Duval will definitely be closed for the 10,000 expected bikes and it's an Ember Day - mmmm, they're serving Mahimahi at the Ball! Saturday I do believe Hal will be taking his Chang Jiang down to Duval and it's an Ember Day again.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:



My Passionflower Vine

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September 1, 2009, 5:00 pm

As mentioned previously, one of the huge draws of KWHS (Key West High School) was the NJROTC program as a certain dainty girl has military leanings. I think perhaps we docked the S/V Mari Hal-O-Jen at the end of the Boca Chica airstrip a tad too long. :) Well. Today the first bits of the uniform came home. A nice cover and a belt we have to practice wearing *brass on brass* I am so glad that the uniform care and wearing is not my responsibilty!!! Teaching her to iron I can handle, I have a lovely pile of fabric napkins we can start with. :)



Mia approves of the new look, I do believe!



Nothing like doggie kisses after a long hard day at school!

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August 31, 2009, 4:37 pm

Today I'll drop our Termination of Homeschooling paperwork in the mail.

A journey that began in 1992 when my sister and I began homeschooling and continued through my two youngest sisters and then my daughter, has taken a new course. For the first time in years, not a single person in my family is homeschooling!

Though I comfort myself with the thought that I've really just outsourced a few classes to the professionals. :)

After an entire summer of deliberation and discussion, Marianna decided to attend Key West High School. We looked at many, many options. Okay, a few options. It is a small island after all! She has a huge goal in mind and that was reflected in a huge way in the decision-making process. We came up with 4 options.

1. Continue in our rut.
2. Home School 2 High School
3. Boarding School
4. Key West High School

1. I think it's safe to say that we both were bored out of our gourds with our modus operandi. It didn't matter which new curriculum was chosen, it was still going to be her and I staring at each other everyday.

2. There is one private sort of a high school option here in Key West called Home School 2 High School. They meet at the community college and students graduate with an associates as well as a high school diploma. They take classses from the college professors, attend classes at the high school and parents teach some classes. This costs $6000 a year. Add a few thousand more and she could attend a really nice boarding school - option #3!

3. Briefly browsed around Florida boarding schools, in particular, Miami schools as the nearest large city. Not impressed. Except for one boys school which is non-applicable and a school that I don't think is actually IRL but rather a scam. Too bad as it looked right up her alley.

4. Key West High School has all the courses she wants to take, she can graduate with AP (advanced placement) courses or DE (dual enrollment at college). They placed her in all honors courses for freshman year and most very, VERY important - her counselors and ROTC instructor have an entire wall of photos of students that they've gotten into West Point, Annapolis, New London and Colorado Springs. They've trod this path many times and are familar with the territory. I'm not. It's time to let them do their job and become the support crew rather than the driver.

I'm okay with that. Really. :)

And Marianna? She is loving that big old school! She went from seeing friends on Fridays or if we drove 100 miles to being surrounded by 300 freshmen alone.

And she's okay with that. Really. :)



The first day of school photo.

Homeschooling

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July 23, 2009, 1:57 pm

Sorry for the long silence, we traded one island for another for a few weeks. That's right, Key West to Maui, Hawaii for my sister, Michelle's, wedding to Cory! Woo-hoo!

What a great time, Hal took loads of photos and we're just beginning to sort through them, generally in the dark of night when certain people can't sleep. Oofff - jetlag stinks!



e komo mai

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June 24, 2009, 3:06 pm

50 cent oysters.



Hot sauce and horseradish.



Sheer delight.

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June 15, 2009, 6:31 am

Of course, I'd cut it down and make it look girl-like rather than huge and baggy (which is how it would look on me) but this shirt definitely made me laugh yesterday!

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June 12, 2009, 2:24 pm

She proceeded to twist everyone round her little finger, most especially Robert in the kitchen at the Navigator when she dropped a few greenbacks into his tip jar - "For the poor".



Even the seagulls on the beach were susceptible to her charms!

Another fabulous day with the LaPaz Crew!

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June 3, 2009, 6:26 pm

And the answer is...



the F/A-18 Super Hornet, of course!

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June 2, 2009, 8:12 am

Hate to tell you this, Cory, but the planes returned yesterday after the very silent 9 days that you were here. They brought Army helicopters with them. Marianna could tell you what sort of plane this is, etc... etc... but all I can tell you is that it isn't the really loud ones. Those I can identify! Those are the ones they would not let Marianna sit in the cockpit for! Those are the ones that shake the martini glasses on the boat! They are the ones the Sigsbee Elementary "Super Bee" kiddos are named after (according to Hal)!

Care to take a guess as to which plane Marianna wasn't allowed in the other day?

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We're ignoring the fact that today is the first day of hurricane season, deal?
June 1, 2009, 7:12 am

Gosh! It has been one entire month since I've last posted. I think that just may be a record! But, you know, May was hugely busy and so enjoyable and that extra time that wasn't spent online was spent hanging with friends and family and that can never be beat!

So to kick off a new month of blogging, I thought I'd drag out that old thought-provoking meme of the Simple Woman's before I head to work today. Stop by Peggy's for more entries.

Outside my Window...
A Gumbo-Limbo Tree! And Grass! This land based living rocks!
(Just not literally.)

I am thinking...
about stepping up Marianna and my dive certification to the next level. Good summer project, no?

I am wearing ...
vibrant pink and purple skirt and a black tee or white tank. Haven't decided which one for work yet.

I am thankful for...
time spent with my sister, Michelle, and her true love down here in Key West this past week.

From the kitchen...
Last night we had a little BBQ action with a few friends in the backyard under that lovely tree so tonight the leftover Tritip will find it's way into steak and cheese sandwiches.

Towards a Real Education...
Mao's China this week, but even more exciting is a new cooking unit Marianna and I are putting together. After all, we have to figure out how to use an OVEN, a MICROWAVE, and a 4-BURNER STOVE, none of which was present on the boat.

I am creating...
a house that is a home.

I am reading...
I, Elizabeth

Around the home...
Herbs from our garden!

One of my favorite things...
Wooden staircases, though I still have an urge to descend backwards like a companionway. Good thing I had so many years of training - one hand for you, one for the boat - slippery shoes and no non-skid on the deck resulted in a short tumble on those pretty wooden stairs the other day!

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...
Work Monday and Tuesday, Bartender's Class on Wednesday, Motorcycle Safety Class on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you:



Michelle and I

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