Disney World!! (finally!)

So I haven't updated since our Disney World trip (I think it's just been too overwhelming!) or the start of the new school year (I've been too busy!).  Now that we've had a three day weekend, I feel like I finally have the time and energy to update and put up some pictures!  I warn you now though, reader... this is going to be a LONG post... I'll try to consolidate as much as possible, but come on!  It's DISNEY WORLD!!  There's so much so say about it, and so many pictures (although not really, because I was too busy having fun and forgot to take pictures for most of the trip - oops.)... it is just going to take awhile!  So bear with me.  Or don't and just look at the pictures.  :)  

This has to tie with our honeymoon for our best vacation ever.  Even though it was hot and humid, busy, and rainy - we had SO much fun!!  Not even halfway through, we were already talking about "when we come back next time."  We loved staying at Port Orleans - it was beautiful, relaxing, and very quaint.  I'm glad we paid a little extra to stay on property and to stay at one of their "moderate" resorts.  It was great!  We didn't have any issues with riding the Disney buses either - in fact, it was great to get on an air-conditioned bus after a long day at a park, rather than into a hot car!

We went to the Magic Kingdom on our first evening in Florida - we got in early and they were staying open 'til 2am... seemed like the perfect place to start our vacation!  It was definitely one of my favorite parks.  I loved the "Disney" feel that it had - it really did feel magical, and their "Wishes Nighttime Spectacular/The Magic, the Memories, and You" (and it really was a complete show - not just a fireworks display) was incredible!!  We loved Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and the Haunted Mansion.  I think more than anything, I just loved the atmosphere at the Magic Kingdom.  It is quintessential DISNEY!

Next up was Animal Kingdom.  I loved this park too - more than I thought I would.  It had some fantastic shows and one of our favorite rides (or maybe the favorite?) out of all the parks - Expedition Everest!  A.K. is where we saw the Lion King show (loved it!!) and the Finding Nemo show (truly unique and beautifully done) - two of my favorite things that we did the whole week!  And for dinner we ate at the Yak and Yeti - oh.  my.  gosh.  It was so good!!  I think it was the best food we had all week, and our server was awesome - amazing how they can make or break your experience at a restaurant!  Ok, now that I'm reliving it, I might actually have to say that Animal Kingdom was my favorite... it was awesome!  And even though it rained off and on all day, somehow it totally fit the atmosphere of the park, and it just made it seem even more "jungle-y."  Disney must be awesome to have this self-proclaimed hydro-phobe (I just really hate being WET if I'm not in the shower/lake/pool/etc) saying that even the rain was nice!  haha  :)

The next park we went to was Hollywood Studios, and I've gotta say - other than the Tower of Terror and the Rockin' Rollercoaster, this was probably my least favorite park.  That being said, we loved this one too!  haha :)  I think part of the problem was that rain I mentioned previously?  Well it wasn't a nice jungle drizzle here and there - it pretty much poured all day.  By the end of the day I was getting pretty tired of soggy feet and managing our $.99 "parkas."  We made the best of it though (and I'm glad we were prepared!) - my favorite parts were the aforementioned rides and the Beauty and the Beast show - Tim's favorite part (other than the rides) was the nighttime show, Fantasmic!

And last but definitely not least, we went to Epcot.  We had dinner at the Coral Reef restaurant for our anniversary - where we got to sit right next to the aquarium wall (the entire side of the restaurant sat up against a huge aquarium - complete with sting rays, sea turtles, and sharks!).  Other than the part where I spilled my red wine all over the table and broke the glass... it was a really nice dinner!  :)  My favorite rides at Epcot were Soarin' (which is one of my favorites out of all the parks) Mission Space (the Orange Mission!), and Spaceship Earth... the last one probably only because we were a little tipsy when we rode it, and at the end they take your picture (I made a ridiculous face - hideous actually) and then they put it on a little cartoon body and show "you" preparing for your trip to space and taking off... and it was hilarious... like, couldn't-stop-laughing hilarious.  I highly recommend a few glasses of wine beforehand to get the full effect.  :)

This last one is of us on a riverboat ride from Port Orleans over to the French Quarter for some yummy beignets and coffee - amazing!!  Then we rode the riverboat down to Downtown Disney for some shopping and Irish fare at Raglan Road (an Irish pub complete with riverdancers!).

So there you have it!  Ahhhhh - I feel so much better now that I've finally blogged about our MAGICAL Disney World trip!!  It really is the happiest place on Earth, and I would go back in a heartbeat.  I love, love, LOVED it!  Can't wait to go again when the weather is a little better, and then again when we have some little mini-Proffitts to enjoy it with us, and then again with some friends... :)  They even made a Disney World lover out of Tim, and I really didn't expect him to love it as much as I did.  So yay!  Go to Disney World!  You will love it!

...and take me with you!!  

I DID IT!!!

So my summer research program at UT Southwestern is over!  I had an amazing experience, and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to do it, but I'm glad to have a break - I'm ready to have a little mini summer vacation before we go back to school (in a few weeks - yikes!!). 

It was one of the most challenging things I've ever done, and I guess that's why I have a combination of relief and accomplishment.  I'm relieved that I made it through... successfully!  I finally get to take a load off and relax my brain a little bit!  I'm really proud of myself that I did it though - I was completely out of my comfort zone pretty much ALL summer, but I did it!  I made a really awesome lesson plan related to what I did this summer, I made a kick-ass poster (it's HUGE - 3x5 feet!), and I feel really good about my presentation I did on Friday - not to mention all the work I did in the lab, which was totally out of my element.  I feel like I even made friends from the lab I worked at (I think I got put in the best lab, with the best people possible... I really think it couldn't have been a better group to work with!). 

Funny thing about this summer though, is it reinforced what I think I already knew about myself... I love my kids more than I love my content area (which I think is probably a really good thing, especially for middle school!).  Case in point?  One of the teachers said during the summer, "this program has really made me realize how much I love science" and my first thought was, "this program has really made me realize how much I love teaching."  Don't get me wrong, I love science too - but the process of truly doing scientific research?  As in... not just reading about the latest technologies and learning how the human body works, but being a scientist... it's very overwhelming and intricate, and just not really my thing.  I'm so glad I got to do it this summer though, because now I know about a whole world out there that I didn't really know anything about before - I'm so glad I'll have that experience to be able to share with my kids.  It might not be something I would want to do for my career, but I know some of them would be great at it!

Soooooo yeah.  Great experience, great people, SO glad I did it... but glad to have a little break and the countdown to Disney World is ON!! 

Here are a few pics from the summer... I have a few more good ones, but I'll have to have the STARS people and my lab send them to me.  These are just the ones I have...

Working on my stains - this was actually WAY harder than you might think... really easy to make one tiny mistake and ruin several days worth of work!

Happy Canada Day!  We had several die-hard Canadians in the lab :)

Me and most of my lab after my presentation - meant so much to me that they all came!!

Laura, me, Chantelle, and Gang at Gloria's for a little goodbye party

Joachim (my host), Chantelle, and Mieu

Colleen, Laura, and Gang (my other host)

Dan and his wife Sara and their beautiful baby Julian

Tim came to my presentation and to Gloria's - such a wonderful and supportive husband!!

My mentor, Chantelle and me (she was awesome!)

Oh, and one last exciting thing!  One of the local Coppell/Irving newspapers is going to put me in a back-to-school feature they're doing called "Meet Your Teacher" (or something like that).  How cool is that?! 

Insomnia

I knew that this summer would not be a terribly relaxing one with the summer research job at UTSW, but I did not know that any stress/anxiety/ineptitude I was feeling during the day would leave me not being able to sleep well at night.  I feel like between dreaming in annoying loops about staining slides over and over and over (and stressing in my sleep that I did something wrong) and Lucy waking us up around 5ish every morning to play... I could count on one hand the number of truly restful nights I've had.  And this is coming from the person who normally falls asleep within 5 minutes of lying down and hardly wakes up the entire night.  I feel slightly depressed just thinking about my lack of sound sleeping and genuine rest!  :(


I guess on the bright side, getting up at 4 or 5am does have it's advantages!  The other day I managed to clean the whole downstairs (and it needed it badly!) and finish the laundry before heading off to work.  Today I'm taking the more relaxing route.  I decided that instead of just staying in bed and trying to go back to sleep, I would get up, drink some tea, piddle around online, maybe read... just generally enjoy a looooong relaxing morning before going into work (early!).

And just to recap what else has been going on lately (though sometimes it feels like nothing else is going on except for researching - which I'm also doing in my sleep apparently)... I'm going to make a list.  I like lists.

1)  I went to "Painting with a Twist" in Grapevine with some girls from East.  It was a blast!!  We went to dinner at Esparza's first, and then walked across the street to drink wine and paint!  They have a selected painting that they do on different nights, so you kind of pick the night that you want based on which painting you want to do.  They walk you through the whole process, step by step, and everyone ends up with the same painting more or less.  I don't think that ultra-creative types would be thrilled with having someone else walk them through how to paint, when to paint, what to paint, etc.  I, however, LOVED it!  The experience is what is so fun though anyway (especially with a fun group of girls like we had!), so I really think anyone could have a blast doing it.  I highly recommend it!!  They have one in Dallas and in other places too.  Here are some pics of the evening (thanks Nancy for the great pics - I'm lazy and haven't put mine on my computer yet... surprise surprise!)

Final product!

Kate, Alicia, and me

Me & Nancy (can you tell I've been up since 4:45am?  yikes!)

All the girls!  Love my East peeps :)

Annnnd I know I said I was making a list, but posting pictures always takes me awhile, so I've decided that I'm done with this post now, haha.  And Lucy is demanding attention, so I must go play "jingly toy" with her.  Have a great day!

Disneyyyyy!

Okay, so a quick update on the Disney/Universal dilemma.  I researched what it would cost us to take a day and go visit Universal Studios (keep in mind we're staying at a Disney resort and are doing their dining plan), and it was just going to be WAY too hectic and expensive to make it worth while.  So we decided to stick with just Disney World!  I'm actually super excited that we're doing it that way (and shockingly not sad about missing HP World). 

I did a little research and basically gathered that Disney World is an experience... the destination for a trip... whereas Universal Studios (while awesomely fun I'm sure) is more of an "attraction" - as in... planning a Florida vacation?  Great!  Go the beach, go to Sea World, Universal Studios, a Disney park, etc... There were several recommendations that if you were going FOR Disney World (which we 100% are), then just do Disney.  There are 4 parks to go to, our hotel has an awesome pool (several actually), the Boardwalk, Downtown Disney... I don't think there will be a shortage of places to go and things to do! We'll plan a "Florida" trip another time.  :)

We are soooooooooooo crazy excited!!!  Here are some pictures of where we'll be staying -

YAYYYYYYYY!!!!

Creepy...

Apparently there's another "Mrs. Proffitt" who teaches 7th grade science and does cheerleading at another school in Texas...

IS THAT CREEPY OR WHAT?!

Summer Update

Wow, I can't believe it's only been a week since school's been out - with the summer research program getting underway, it feels like WEEKS since school ended!  Even the "kick-off" party last Sunday seems like ages ago; it's so weird to think it was only a week ago.  Weird.

So... the first week was pretty great!  Well, the first 2.5 days were boring - orientation, safety training, animal handling training, etc.  BUT - when we finished training on Wednesday afternoon, I headed to the lab to get started!  Some people's labs told them to just not worry about it and come in Thursday, but when I emailed, they told me - "Okay, see you at 2!"

I figured it would be a getting-to-know-things kind of day, but nope!  I got right into working on things!  I ended up working 'til 6pm, and when I left that day, I was over my anxiety!!  If any of you had talked to me the week before (or read my blog post I guess), you would know that I was excited, but so incredibly anxious - fearful almost.  After that first afternoon though, I really felt like, "I think I can do this... and I think I'm going to ENJOY it!"  And by Friday afternoon I was talking Tim's ear off about it, researching/studying brain anatomy - I even bought this gorgeous book, "The Human Brain" because I'm just so interested!  If you are at all interested in how the brain works, you should pick this book up - it's not everyday I call a science book "gorgeous," but it truly is!  And it's not overly-neurosciency... I feel like anyone could flip through it and enjoy it.  And though this pic makes it look like a textbook, it's not.  I got it at B&N and it has tons of full color, glossy photos/illustrations. 

They told us the first day of orientation that we could talk about what we're doing in the lab, but very generally... the example they gave was posting on Facebook something along the lines of, "Had a great day in the lab today!"  I was like, WOW - that is ridiculously general.  No indication of ANY of the cool things I'll be doing.  So... unless I find out otherwise, I don't think I can expand on what I'm working on.  I think it's okay to say that my research involves different proteins that seem to be related with different neuro-degenerative diseases, and that I will be making tissue slides and analyzing them.  Not sure I can say much else though for now.  I will tell you though, that it is looking to be a very good summer!  The people I am working with in my lab are awesome, and I'm already doing several things on my own - including using a very sharp slicing machine with no direct supervision!  Ha!

Let's see... what else is new... oh!  We are for sure going to Disney World!! 

I am sooooo excited!!  We haven't booked it yet, but we've been doing research and are definitely going.  We've decided to stay at one of the Disney hotels, because they have so many amenities for going to the different parks... now it's just a matter of deciding which one (a main factor being price, because they are pricey!).  So if any of you have any tips or helpful hints in planning a Disney World vacation, please let me know!  We're also debating the whole Universal Studios thing, so if you have any opinions about that, let me know that as well.  We kind of just want to do Disney (I didn't even realize they were separate entities, if that tells you how little I know of it!) to keep things simple (we're not into a go, go go! kind of vacation), BUT - I reeeeeally wanted to go to the Harry Potter theme park!!!  :/  I am torn.  Thoughts?

Now I know all you HP freaks (like me) are thinking this is a no-brainer... but think practically with me people!!  Imagine that you were really going, you have a finite amount of resources, days to spend there, etc... and think about it honestly! 

Okay, so I think that's it as far as interesting(?) updates of things so far.

Oh, one last thing - this summer's goal: go workout in the mornings!  Now I think I make this a "goal" every summer, but I reeeeally want to do it this time (and I think I can).  I don't have to be at the lab 'til 9:30, it's less than 10 minutes from our place (and the gym is less than 5), and I will be on a schedule, which always helps.  Plus I have the ol' ten year reunion at the end of the summer, so I want to look nice and svelte for that... although getting MARRIED didn't exactly have the "get your butt to the gym" effect that I figured it would, but oh well.  :)  Tim said he would go with me, so that helps.  Wish me luck!!

I'd like to look about how I did when I first started teaching... which is not too different from what I am now, so it seems like a doable goal.  Obviously if I could look like I did for my junior prom or my 21st birthday I would... but we'll cross that bridge when/if we come to it. 

Here's a (not great) pic of the beginning of my first year of teaching.  I tried to find a better one, but to no avail.  You might not be able to tell a huge difference w/ the big shirt, but I can... my face & neck look a lot thinner to me, and I got rid of those jeans LONG ago (and they don't even look tight in that picture)!

I'll let ya know how it goes!  The summer is only a week in and already flying by - hopefully it's not time for school to start before I update again.  :)

5 Exciting Things & 1 Dilemma (original eh?)

Exciting things...

1) I got accepted into UT Southwestern's STARS ("Science Teachers' Access to Research at Southwestern") summer research program!!!!!!  It is a pretty big deal, and I am super excited about it.  And I'm crazy nervous now that it's just around the corner (as in, 7:30am the Monday after our last day of school... which is Saturday for teachers... don't ask!).  I feel excited and overwhelmed and proud and totally out of my league.  It's going to be AWESOME.  I'm completely terrified, and yet I can't wait!!

2) Tim and I went to Oklahoma to surprise my mom for her Mothers' Day & birthday weekend.  I called her when we were on our way (I knew she would appreciate a little advanced notice), and she was so excited!  We got to hang out with my parents, one of my brothers and his kiddos, had lunch with some of the family in Tulsa the next day, and then headed out.  It was kind of a whirlwind trip, but it was so great to be back home to visit and to surprise my mom.  She told me that it was probably her favorite Mothers' Day ever because it was just so unexpected.  YAY!!!

3) Tim and I went to Ikea on Sunday (I know, I know... Ikea on a weekend, we're crazy) and got all new bedroom furniture!!  We got a new bed, nightstands, a dresser, and all new lamps.  We're still putting everything together (and by we, I mean Tim), so no pictures yet... you will just have to wait.  But I love, love, LOVE everything!!

4) There are 13 days left of school, and really only 8 "real" days until finals week... which pretty much feels like school is over.  I'm SO looking forward to a break from the routine and to try something new.  I know that technically I'm not taking this summer off, but it will be so different from anything I've ever done (and so challenging... but in a good way?), that it seems like a break.  Plus did I mention they pay me?  Well, they do.  Plus classroom supplies.  Sweeeeeeeet!!

5) I think we might go to Disney World for our anniversary in August.  That is all I will say about that, because I am so ridiculously excited, I don't want to get my hopes up and talk about it for months and then it not happen somehow.  So more on that later.  :)

6) Finally - the great debate... the dilemma... should I chop my hair off now or wait until the end of the summer?  It is crazy long right now, maybe the longest it's been since I was in 2nd grade.  But I'm not really a long-hair-kinda-girl... I'm so torn!  Usually when it gets long, I "need" to chop it off because it's driving me crazy.  Not so this time - miraculously!  I'm just bored I think.  So... here are my choices (though it's been 3 months since the "long" picture was taken... sooooo yeah.):

Sigh.  What to do, what to do...

Tease

I realized just now that I haven't blogged since March... granted, it was March 31st, but still.

I just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking I'll blog again soon.  Didn't quite work up to it tonight, but thought I would tease you anyway.  Okay, so I actually figured if I blogged a "guess what I'm about to blog!" post, that I would actually sit down soon and do a real one.  Cross your fingers.

So here's what you have to look forward to...
* update on my summer plans (my uber-exciting research position that I got!!!  I'm so excited!!!  Can you tell?!!)
* March & possibly April Project 365 pictures (I have to make them first... so this will be a challenge)
* Mothers' Day surprise (for my mom - don't be getting any ideas!)
*something about Lucy (because who am I kidding... can I not include her??)

That's all.  Hope you enjoyed my non-post.

Goodnight ;)

This is what happens when I'm home alone too long...

Oh, and then I made this... I'm actually pretty excited about it.  :)  I normally download a cute ready-made desktop calendar that I can plop my pictures into, but I wasn't crazy about this month's.  So on a whim, I decided to try to make my own - and it actually was successful!  I love it.  :)  If you want it, just let me know and I'll send it to you (without my personal pics of course).

Little Lucy-fur

So I noticed the other day that Lucy was starting to shed more... not shocking, since it's spring, but kind of a new thing for us - she hasn't really shed at ALL since we got her.  Today I went ahead and brushed her (we're "supposed" to brush her every couple of days, but I think we all know how that doesn't happen), and it was an amazingly shocking amount of fur!!!  So I figured that if she had that much fur coming off of her, I should vacuum the furniture, swiffer the floor really well, and vacuum upstairs.  Now we are not dirty people, but it's probably been a week since we swept and two since we vacuumed (a little embarrassing, I know)... it.  was.  awful!!!  I always told myself I would never be one of those cat people... you know the kind.  After today I'm paranoid that we ARE!!!  Not again... there will never be that much fur coming off of her and all over the house.  YUCK!!!

Oh!  And our sweet little Lucy turned a year old this past Thursday!  She's still so little - I hope she stays this way forever.

...

blah.

goodnight.

Project 365 - February!

 

Eh?  You like?  And here is what they will look like side by side in an album... along w/ January's also.  I think it's going to be so cute when it's all finished!!  I just need to keep taking lots of pictures... which I have not been so great about the past month.  Been too busy obsessing over Dexter, our new favorite show.  I never would have thought I'd love it, but it is one of my favorite shows of all time!  Ok, here ya go: 

 

And there you have it!  Not much else going on these days... spent the last weekend with Andrea in Oklahoma City - fun, but WAY too short of a visit.  Currently in the last weekend before we go back from Spring Break.  It has been gloriously lazy, and I have loved every minute of it!  I've watched a ridiculous amount of TV and haven't done much else.  I think next week is going to be a hard week back, haha. 

Hope all my school friends have had a relaxing Spring Break, and for the rest of you... ummmm you should be a teacher.  :) 

We will miss you Father Joe!

Our last Sunday with Father Joe - he will be dearly missed. I'm sensing a little vacation to Washington DC this summer! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Hello, Goodbye

I love my church!!!  I think it's been since high school that I've felt really solid about and connected with a church and the group of people there. 

Last night some of the girls from St. Seraphim went out for a girls night.  We went to P.F. Changs first (where I ate entirely way too much food, but it was sooooo good!).  Then we headed over to the Rodriguez's house for drinks, "Just Dance" on the Wii (I think that's what it's called?), and a little mini-baby-shower for our dear Katie.  It was so much fun!  It was a long week, and an especially long Friday, so a little girl time was much needed.  I was feeling kind of blue all day, so I don't feel like I was my usual happy self... but it was still a great time.  I think we need to do it more than a few times a year, but it's so hard to coordinate that many schedules!

Some highlights...

In other (sad) St. Seraphim news, our beloved Father Joe is moving to Washington D.C. this week.  Tomorrow is his last Sunday with us, and Matushka Kathy (his wife) will be joining him in D.C. at the end of the school year.  I just cannot express how sad Tim and I (and everyone at church) are that he is leaving.  I really think that if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be Orthodox and wouldn't be where I am now.  I feel like Tim invited me on the journey, and then Father Joe walked us through it every step of the way.  He is so wise, so humble, and just real.  I know that he is going where he is needed, and that it's God's will that he go there... but selfishly, I am so sad that he's leaving and wish he could stay here... forever.  :(  His goodbye brunch was last weekend after Liturgy, and while I personally don't have any pictures... you should check Vladimir's out here.

I don't have much else to say... that about sums up where I'm at this evening.  So happy that Tim and I have found a church home with wonderful friends (family) to spend our lives with, yet so sad that we have to say goodbye to one of the most important people in our lives.  Sigh.