Beans

Tis' been a while since my last post.  I am working diligently on finishing my Master's Degree in Music Education. That is taking all of my free time when I am not working.

I am very excited that I received the "baked bean" recipe from my aunt that my grandmother used to make.  I can not wait to try it out.

Scouting

I am looking to get back into scouting. I am excited about getting
more involved either as a leader or merit badge councilor. A lot of my
commitment will hinge upon how much time my official job requires.
www.scouting.org

Leu Gardens

Today I went with Kristin and her Mom to Leu Gardens.  It is a beautiful place in Orlando that is very reminiscent of Kanapaha Gardens in Gainesville.  We went to check out some places that we may consider for our wedding.

I uploaded some pictures to my photostream.

This picture is of the Leu home which is now a museum.

Funny Bumper Sticker

This says a lot!

That's "2" for the hider and "0" for the seeker

My second try at geocaching also was a bust. I had everything I needed for this trek. At least I thought I did. As I started down the trail, I realized I forgot to bring the clues once you get to the site. The GPS worked just fine this time, but alas I had no clue where to look once I got there. Got a few neat pictures though. One of my dog, Grace, and I. The other was a very green lizard. You can see these pics on my flickr photostream.

Spring Break is here!

Students and teachers alike look forward to this wonderful week off from school. I have a few things planned for this week. Whether or not any of these plans actually happen is quite another thing. I would like to: Play video games (working on Zelda for Wii), go canoeing (finally maybe), do some biking, and perhaps geocache a little. We will see if any of these wonderful actives come to fruition. Ahh the days of going to the beach with my friends...how I miss thee. I will do my best to put up any pictures of activites.

Looking forward to this weekend...

So I am really looking forward to this weekend's adventures. I am planning on going Geocaching (see the last post for an explanation). I found this short series of treasure hunting goals in a row. They all seem to be pretty easy so I figured that I would just try to do all 5 in a row.

Planning on bringing my camera and will upload some pics of the experience.

I am also going to try to go canoeing with my better half. It is a beautiful oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. We missed the trek last weekend by a half hour (they had closed).

Geocaching

So my cousin Jillian and her fiancee told me about this great new thing that I just started researching and looking into.

It is called "Geocaching." "Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment." -description taken directly from the Geocaching home page.

So at first I thought it was just in Maine (this is how he proposed to her). But now I have discovered that it is a worldwide activity and some people are REALLY into it.

I am looking into starting my own geocaching adventure this weekend. I don't know what I am going to go after or what have you but I am excited about the idea of going on a treasure hunt.

Ancestry

I love studying genealogy. I have lately been doing a lot of updating to my ancestry.com page. It has been a blast. I have also received many new pictures for the site from one of my cousins. This has really helped and inspired me to do more work on it. My next goal is to hopefully get more of my family involved in editing the pages. I have about 600 people currently posted in my family pages. Getting more of my family involved I am hoping will create a more accurate account of our whole family.

Here is a great picture of my mother that I got from my cousin.

Maple Syrup

I have this taste in my mind of the perfect flavor of maple syrup. I have no idea where I got it from. I have been trying different kinds now for a while. This last weekend I decieded to try something called grade B syrup. THIS WAS IT! It has an unrefined taste that I was looking for. The straight from the tree taste. If you have not tried grade B syrup you should. It is fantastic. I bought the Spring Tree brand because it was the only one offered here in Florida in grade B.

"Looney Bin" goes to school

Last week I finally brought the "Looney Bin" sign that my Aunt Dot and Uncle Dwight gave me for Christmas in to school. I currently have it above my dry erase board at the head of the class room. It has really been quite a funny talking point with the students. First it is positioned right over the advanced orchestra agenda...so naturally they think I am calling them looney. I have had to explain many times that it is a play on words, the bird and the concept of being looney, and that I just like to have the sign there. I may hang it over my office door...but time will tell.

My aunt had it made specially for me and I love it! The loon collection continues to grow!

Why I Love Maine...

Marshfield House
Originally uploaded by dnolsen

My mother emailed this great poem to me. I have no idea if anyone is reading these mindless posts but I will share anyway. This pretty much sums up anyone that considers themselves a "Maine-iac" and why we are that way. I think that she found it in her church bulletin.

Why I Love Maine...

'It's winter in the state of Maine
And the gentle breezes blow,
Seventy miles an hour,
At fifty-two below.
Oh, how I love the state of Maine
When the snow's up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose, it freezes shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
So I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave the state of Maine...
Cause I'm frozen to the ground.'