Many Firsts

We've been to Vegas twice before our most recent trip. It's not our absolute favorite place to vacation, but it's pretty darn inexpensive. There's also a ton to do. During this third trip, we had many firsts that I'll be sharing about. Pictures to come after my M.Ed freakout today and tomorrow.

First Mimosa:
We had our first mimosas at the More Buffet (formally known as Pharaoh's Feast) at Luxor. We couldn't say no since it came with our Champagne Brunch. Fancy, no?

Result:
We didn't finish them. Our waiter was too generous and gave us too much champagne in our Mimosas. We just don't fancy the taste of alcohol too much.

First Timeshare Presentation:
My hubster and I wanted to go check out the Bodies and Titanic exhibit at Luxor. The line was too long at the box office and none of the prices were listed. Then, we decided to go to the blue blazer booth nearby to inquire about ticket prices. We got roped into attending a timeshare presentation.

Result:
Spending the longest 4 hours of my life repeatedly saying, "No, thank you." It is the best con ever designed to wear you down into signing on the dotted line. At least we got, 3 sets of tickets for different exhibits and shows and $125 in vouchers for food and gambling.

First Time Playing Slots with More than a $1:
When we go to Vegas, we don't do the usual Vegas activities including gambling. We're just too frugal. Since we decided to use $75 of our $125 in vouchers, we didn't feel so guilty.

Result:
We won about $150 playing penny slots.

First Cirque de Soleil Show:
The Cirque de Soleil shows dominate the strip. We've been wanting to watch one, but hadn't seen one that caught our eye until LOVE. We ended up getting discounted tickets through Smarter Vegas.

Result:
It was a total visual and auditory overload. At times, it was absolutely beautiful. At other times, it was easy to become frustrated because you felt like you were missing out by only focusing on one part of the stage. I can definitely understand why Beatles' fans love it.

Closest to a MJ Tribute That I'll Get

When I was a wee pre-teen, I loved 3T. They were a band of triplets who were also MJ's nephews. My all time favorite 3T song was Anything. Here it is:

Veggie Stand

I had some free time to play with my SLR, so I decided to go to the self-serve veggie stand nearby. The little barn is so cute and the veggies always look a-mazing. Working with the SLR is definitely way more tricky than I thought it would be. Time to squeeze in more practice before we go to Vegas.

On My Soon-To-Buy List

source the letter tree

This is a personalized bee stamp, which will be my next exciting purchase this week. The only reason I haven't ordered it yet is because I am unsure how my name will fit around the adorable bee. My whole first name is quite long and my last name is hyphenated. Why do I need this adorable stamp? To make my own stationary of course!

Nerdy Yet Adorable

source sanrio

Welcome to the Family!

I finally graduated last Sunday. One of my a-mazing gifts from my hubster was this SLR. It's a Canon Rebel XSi. I'm pretty excited to start using it. Honestly, I'm a bit intimidated too because I want to make sure that I use all of the options appropriately. I haven't had a chance to play with it much yet because I have been busting my derriere getting my thesis draft ready for review. I haven't completely abandoned my wee little point and shoot Pentax just yet. I know I'll love each of them for different reasons.

Catch Up: Memorial Day

For Memorial Day, we decided to take a mini day trip to Montana de Oro. It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. I'm so happy we went because we got to go on this new trail that just opened last year. The trail is on private property that's owned by the local power plant, so there are some rules. You must must stay on the trail. No joke. There are electric fences to make sure you abide by the rule. Watch your step!

Oh so, fluffy! Check out the buggy on the left.

Have you ever noticed our state flower and state fish are both this brilliant orange?

Yay, you can't tell how puffy and tired my eyes are when I make funny faces.

Moooo...my hubster is wondering what kind of cow this is.

Love, love, love the arches.

Wildflowers.

My hubster being good and staying on the trail.

Catch Up: The Huntington

For spring break, we decided to make a trip to LA. While planning, I stumbled across the Huntington Library. It's a botanical garden, library, and art museum all rolled into one. We definitely recommend it. It's just a lot of walking, especially if you want to see all the different gardens.

We heart succulents.

Yep, that's my hand. We do take a lot pictures of the same things.

I love these flowers because they remind me of guavas.

It's the giant cricket that my hubster chased down.

It's a mini bonsai forest.

Yes, you have to wear those Huntington "H" stickers.

These are the light bulbs that Edison used.

Summer Reading List

Summer is finally along the horizon. I can see it just peeking over the ridge of my graduation and M.Ed presentation. This new development means that it's time for me to stock up my summer reading list. On my list so far:

1. Finally finish The Mysterious Benedict Society


2. The Legend of Colton H. Bryant


3. The Breadwinner


4. Elijah of Buxton


5. Twilight

What Does BEA Stand For?

I've had issues with my whole first name since I was a wee one. The mispronounciations are endless. I have learned to deal with it gracefully and just respond. People don't mean to mispronounce my name unless they're a playground bully. As my mom would say, I was one of those lucky kids that didn't have to have my last name initial tacked onto my name like Ashley A or Jessica B.

Even though I wasn't always a big fan of my whole first name, I have always loved the abbreviated version of my name, which is featured on this blog. I always thought it was cute. It fits me perfectly because I'm so petite. I just learned another reason to love it. What does BEA stand for to people in the publishing business? BookExpo America! How cool is that? Very cool if you ask me.

Catch Up: Is-Land Fun

In our school district, the big trip for the big kids is a trip out to Channel Islands. The most popular island for kiddos to visit is Santa Cruz Island. Last week, we went out there with all of our big kids from our grade (totaling to 100+ kiddos). It was an amazing trip. I'm so happy that I went with them. On our trip out there, we saw a pod made of hundreds of dolphins surrounding our boat, sea lions relaxing on a buoy, and three humpback whales feeding.

While we were on the island, we saw island foxes that are no bigger than my Tabatha. We also saw where ground bees burrow. As we were waiting to get on the boat (we literally got on one by one), we saw sea stars, urchins, and a brillant orange garibaldi fish just below the kelp forest.

Fun Fact: They used to raise sheep on Santa Cruz Island.

Sea lions bumming around.

Fluke of the mama whale.

A wee Island fox.

Ground bee burrows.

Scorpion Landing?

Magic is Everywhere

I had to write my end-of-the-year reflection, describing how I have grown over this year. Of course, I put what they wanted to hear. I really wished I could write how I have learned how to appreciate the magic in the smallest moments of my day with my kiddos. Here's the best moment ever with my big kids.

With it being the end of the school year, we're just finding activities to pass the time. I had a few writing projects that I wanted to try out. One is a random autobiography, which is a poem that lists random things about a person's life. I told them what a risk it is to share yourself with an audience and to be honest on top of that. Then, I shared a brief version of my random autobiography with them:

Bye, Bye from Mrs. T---

I am just me.

I cannot say that I have always tried to be me. When I was little I would pretend I was a veterinarian, news reporter, and a horseback rider,

I have ridden a horse through rusty red canyons.

One place that I still want to visit is the Grand Canyon, so I may see columns of stone and the Colorado River that runs through it.

I have seen the columns that Roman hands have built, but I have not seen the columns built by the Greeks.

Some of my favorite stories in college were by great Greeks named Sophocles and Aristophanes.

For college, I went to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with the boy who would become my husband.

My husband has made me promise that I will not teach our future children how to just eat the center of the Oreos and stick the two cookie pieces back together and place them back into the cookie jar.

I remember how my mom used to place the cookie jar on top of the refrigerator, just out of reach for my little hands.

I have used my hands to plant tomato plant seedlings that we will hopefully harvest at the end of this summer.

I am ready for summer to begin. How about you?

After I finished reading it aloud, my kiddos applauded for me. They are the most compassionate set of big kids that I have ever met. It wasn't important that they applauded me. It was important to me that they enjoyed a piece of writing that I wrote and still embraced me afterwards as being part of their community. Now, I know for sure that I never want to give up teaching.