Back to School

Just a couple weeks ago, I remember the start of all of the back to school promotions. I was in Target for example thinking about how quickly the summer had passed by and how sorry I felt for all the children dreading the return to school. Little did I know, I would be returning with them. It has only been one week since I was offered a position as Spanish teacher, and I can say, without a doubt, that this week has been the most emotional week of the year so far. I think it is the stress of preparing to teach that is causing me to feel so unstable. I mean, I have accepted a job with a huge amount of responsibility and never in my life have I been so afraid of failing. Maybe it is the fact that I have about 5 bosses that I feel I have to please not to mention all of the teachers in the building, the parents, even the school secretaries.

As I begin this new adventure in life, I am trying my best to keep a positive attitude about everything because I know that simply my attitude can change everything. In the end, I have to remember that the worst thing that could happen is that I could decide I no longer liked the job and resign. But, I would still have everything that matters most to me in life and that is all I really need to think about. In all honesty, despite all the stress and anxiety, I still haven't given up hope. I know in the future, I am going to look back and be so glad I gave this job a chance. :)

Cloud Nine :)

How does it feel to be on cloud nine? Well, I think I now have an idea. Just this morning, I got THE call of the summer. The call was from Loudoun County Public Schools offering me a full-time teaching position with medical, dental, vision, prescription, life insurance, retirement, sick and personal leave plus an awesome annual salary. Of course, I have been so ecstatic all morning, jumping and dancing all over the house. I simply cannot contain my joy right now so acting silly all morning has been my outlet. This just goes to show that at any moment, something can happen that changes everything. Thank God for this wonderful opportunty!

I will post any updates later... :)

The Magic Flute

This last Friday, Dubbie and I joined some of our friends to go to Wolftrap and see The Magic Flute. The Magic Flute is a German opera and our friends Heather Joy and Sam happened to be friends with the person who performed the lead role, Tamino. It was fun to get out and do something out of the ordinary. I had never been to see an opera, so for me, this was very new and exciting. We all got lawn tickets and relaxed and had some snacks before the show. As it got later, the sky was clear and there was a fresh breeze. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night. The opera was wonderful and I are now anxious to got back to Wolftrap and enjoy another show before the end of the summer.

You collect dolls!!??

Well, this weekend was so much fun! I attended the 2007 Doll and Teddy Bear Expo in Washington DC and was able to see some of my favorite dolls from companies like Ginger Brook Hollow, Pullips, Ellowyne Wilde, Goodreau BJDs, and West Coast Kids in person. And as you can imagine, for someone like me who has always loved my dolls, I was in doll heaven! I took tons of pictures which you can view at www.imagestation.com/members/jessicana

It was a weekend long event so I was there both days admiring all of the beautiful dolls and the cute teddies that were there. So many big names were there but I was so excited to get to meet Cheri from Ginger Brook Hollow and spend some time with her. Without a doubt, she lived up to her reputation as being a very kind and sweet woman. I also was able to meet Maria from http://www.mariasdollhouse.com/. She is a well respected doll collector in the 18" vinyl play doll world. She was also very nice and actually spent a lot of time walking booth to booth with me enjoying the dolls.

Of course, at the end of the event, I ended up bringing home some new dolls. Here is a picture...





















































































Well, even though the event is over, I still can't get the dolls out of my head. I am so excited to have my first Ginger Brook Hollow doll because I have wanted one for a little while and just always thought they were out of my price range. Today I was admiring the great detail and quality of my new Meg and thinking about how I have to stop thinking about quantity, and start thinking about quality as far as my collecting goes. The funny thing is that I think that while I was there at the expo, I was bitten by the Ginger Brook Hollow bug because if tomorrow all the other doll companies disappeared from the face of the earth, I really think I could be happy just collecting Ginger Brook Hollow. I love these dolls!

We're Back!

Wow! What an awesome trip. Cancun was beautiful to say the least and we had a very fun time in Mexico. It was for sure an unforgettable trip and we came home yesterday with over 800 photos. Of course, it is almost impossible to take a bad pic in Cancun so as they were downloading, I was trying to pick the best to post here on my blog.

We left Washington DC Wednesday June 25th earling in the morning. I was feeling really nervous about the flight (for some strange reason) but we made it to Mexico safely. When we got to our hotel, we wanted to run to the beach and we ended up relaxing there after a dinner at one of the restaurants there at our hotel. The resort that we stayed at was absolutly gorgeous. It is called the Fiesta Americana Condesa.

The next day, we decided to take the bus into town to go to "Mercado 28" where we would be able to eat lunch and bargin with local artisans. It was very neat to go and practice my bargining in spanish. And the vendors there were almost desperate to make a deal. I was surprised to see that the prices of a lot of the things were not as inexpensive as I have always heard that Mexico is. For a simple lunch at the market, our bill came to approximately $25.00 and notmally here N. VA we spend about $25 - $30 for lunch. But we tryed to bargin as low as we could.

On Friday the 27th of July, we took an excursion to Chichen Itza. The bus trip out there was very long. It took about 2 hours to arrive at the ruins. But before getting there the bus made a stop at a Cenote. (No we didn't go swimming in it due to a tight schedule)

Once at Chichen Itza we enjoyed listening to the stories behind each ruin. I was really amazed at the intelligence of the Mayan people. I mean, come on, a 365 day calendar! That is incredible! We also met a really nice couple from Orlando and spent the afternoon with them taking pictures and looking at the hand made crafts. We got back to the hotel exausted and just wanted to relax on the beach.

On Saturday, we decided that we needed to have a "dia de descanso" and just relax. We slept in really late, ate at the huge breakfast buffet at 11 AM and then spent the day at the beach and gradually made it up to the pool. We couldn't have asked for better weather. I really loved every minute of it. And the pool at the resort was the best pool ever. It was so warm and the perfect place to relax. At night we decided to check out the night life so we jumped on the bus and rode down to the area where all the clubs were located. We walked and walked and just people watched (It is amazing how rude some Americans in Cancun are. Especially the younger crowd. They really make a bad impression for the rest of us.) And then we had a late dinner at Vips which is the equivalent of what we would consider a Denny's or IHOP.

Sunday was our last full day so we decided to take a boat cruise to Isla Mujeres and go on a tour of the island. The boat ride over to the island took about 45 minutes and once we got there, we rented a golf cart and drove the perimeter of the island. It was so pretty. There were so many vacation homes there and we could definitely see why- the island was just so inviting. We then went to spend some time on the beach and my DH soaked up the sun while I hid under the umbrella. We ate lunch there and then returned to the boat for our trip back to Cancun. Once back in Cancun, we returned to the market to make our last minute souvenir purchases. We would be leaving the next day. ( See the lizard hiding behind the pole? He is either so scared he can't look or he must have forgotten his sunblock! LOL)

Monday arrived and it was time to return home. We slept in a bit and woke up and began packing. It was kinda sad leaving but I was glad to get home to my own bed at the same time.We checked out at noon nd took a taxi to the airport. Our flight had been delayed because of bad weather in Miami which is where we had our stop over. At 3PM our plane departed Cancun airport. We promised ourselves that we would definitely return and hopefully sooner than later. In Miami we soon realized that our flight to DC had also been delayed, so we wasted some time surfing the web on Dubbie's computer. Oh and to our surprise, we actually met up with one of my best friends from Highschool. He had been on vacation in Miami and was taking the same flight home. We left Miami around 9 :15 PM and it wasn't until 11:30 PM that we arrived back home.

Overall, I can't express how much fun we had together in Cancun. My DH calls it our "second honeymoon" and it really was because it was so nice just to be together in such a beautiful place. One funny thing I will always remember about this trip is the title we gave it : The vacation of the "Chida Mata" which translates to the vacation of the "cool hair". Sarcastically, we call it that because before we left DC we saw this guy in the airport with really funky hair. And then boarding the plane in Miami we saw this girl with crazy hair. And once we arrived to Cancun, my hair went to hell. I truely believe that if your hair tends to be frizzy, then it is impossible to have straight hair in Cancun. And in a ton of our pics, our hair looks horrible! LOL So now looking back, we laugh about it. Another thing I won't forget about this trip is the iguanas. They are everywhere! And I got a lot of great shots.

Well, I am glad to be home now but am still looking forward to our next trip together. I really want to go out West somewhere and see our beautiful country. Any ideas?

The Ultimate Cancun Countdown!

I am so excited. In just 25 short hours my DH and I will be on our way to Cancun! This is going to be such a relaxing vacation and fortunately that is exactly what we need. My DH has been on call this week and has been very stressed. I on the other hand, just finished my Spanish summer camp last Friday and am ready to get out of town.

But there is just one thing that is making me worry. I have heard so many horror stories from others who have vacationed in Mexico and have gotten terribly sick. I know, I know, I won't drink the water, but it is not just the water that I worry about. It is taking a shower and accidently opening my mouth, brushing my teeth, and eating a salad that has lettuce that was just rinsed. I am going to try very hard to return from Mexico without memories that include projectile vomiting.

And who knows, maybe when I get back, I will have much bigger news.......

What is With My Dreams???

For the past couple weeks, one of the biggest changes I have noticed in my life is that every morning, I wake up and I can clearly remember my dreams. And they aren't just the average dreams, they are VERY strange. Some of the highlights of some of my most memorable dreams were , extremly bright colors, a lot of sexual feelings and the strangest people and scenarios.

I don't know why all of a sudden I remember all my dreams every morning but I do. It is almost like a new super power because in the past I would always get frustrated because I had a really strange dream but could never remember it .

Who knows, maybe it just comes with age. But then again, wouldn't you think this would be an ability that we would lose as we get older?