For Spring Break, my family and I traveled to Virginia to visit historic sites in Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Jamestown.  It was amazing! 

My favorite activity was touring the site of the original Jamestown settlement.  It was sobering to think how those people suffered.  As I visited the Jamestown museum later that afternoon, I learned that many of them resorted to cannibalism.  The museum displayed actual skeletal remains of a fourteen year old girl who had died.  According to the marks on her skull, historians believe she was a victim of this cruelty.

Williamsburg was also a lot of fun.  It had a lot of great restaurants.  The picture above shows a Caesar salad I ordered (without anchovies).  It wasn't as I expected, but it was delicious!

If you are into history, I would definitely recommend that area.

Happy holidays everyone!
I hope everyone had a great break, I sure attempted to. I made this cake in honor of Spring (Easter, whatever) and I wanted to share just how good a chocolate cake can look when covered in homemade frosting and food colored coconut, yum! I wrote earlier that I wanted to try working out and running this semester, and my first ever 5k is coming up in a week. We will see how that goes. 

Over spring break, I was able to befriend a rescued squirrel who will be released soon. Everyone, meet Nutterina!

vacaciones de primavera

SO... three of four my kids attend a year-round school.  They released last wednesday 3/16, and will be out until April 4th.  I just started a Title I tutor position at a Middle school close by last monday, 3/14.  My four kids have been scattered all around for this week.  They have spent a lot time with their aunt and close friends, making like 30 kids to two moms....  The week has been absolute pandemonium.  I did however, have an opportunity to run, getting in a few 3-milers and one 5-miler.  I love this time of year minus the pollen.  My car is black so i rinse once a day, realistic waste of time, as within minutes its yellow again. 
I must add, I am thoroughly enjoying my new job.  Its not a student teaching job, nor is it full time, but it is providing me the experience with Middle schoolers that I am learning that I might enjoy a little more than the younger kids.  BUT- i am astounded at the extreme changes in students since I was in middle school.  The expectations of teachers, the students desire to do well, the potty mouths overlooked by the teachers, or the blatant disrespect for teachers or fellow classmates.  I will not be accepting of the use of the F work in my presence at all, tutor or teacher.  Then the students who know they are not going to be held back and stopped doing work three years ago and just sit in class and do nothing.   These kids have such great potential and yearn for attention.  Sometimes I wonder if every morning the class should start with group hugs and "lets all talk it out" time, maybe even journal time.   Sounds ridiculous but really, kids act out for attention becuase any attention be it bad or good is attention.  All eyes on them for just hat moment.  Its there turn to shine bright or dim.  The majority of the kids in this school have terrible home lives.  It saddens me for them.  Maybe I do want to be Mother Teresa and save all the children so they too can grow on to make the world a better place.  

soñar un poco de sueño

Gator golf!

So I happened to stumble upon this little guy sunbathing on Monday. All of the reptiles were out to play! I was playing 18 holes of golf with my friend Miranda. There was one on 4 of the 18 holes...that we could see... This one below was only a 5ft, but there was another that was 13ft! We keep our distance but we appreciate the true beauty of nature from a distance.
¡Bien cervezas , gran día!

Animal Kingdom

Ha!  This was when I visited my oldest daughter in Orlando.  She was there as part of the Disney College Program.  In this picture, I'm with my two younger daughters Camille and Jessie, and of course, Tarzan, who is picking bugs out of Camille's hair.  Animal Kingdom is one of my favorite theme parks.  Me gustaria aprender sobre los animals!

¡Hola clase!

Spring break was very exciting for me this year! Normally all I do is work the whole week but this year I got the opportunity to travel to Baltimore, MD to play in the UNCW pep band and cheer on our men's basketball team as they won the CAA tournament! During that trip, we also got to visit Washington DC! I had never been before so it was a great experience. I feel so lucky to be a part of the UNCW pep band and for the opportunity to continue playing an instrument that I love and has taken up 11 years of my life. I'm even more excited to announce that we are going to the NCAA tournament in Providence, RI and I get to travel again in support of our Seahawks! Everyone should watch the big game on Thursday. It's UNCW vs. Duke at 12:15pm. GO SEAHAWKS!!! :)

Spring Break in a Graveyard!

¡Hola, clase!

My boyfriend, his family, and I traveled to Savannah, Georgia over Spring Break Weekend. We had a wedding at the Historic Bonaventure Cemetery. I never thought I'd attend a wedding at a graveyard site. Yet this was something eerily beautiful. I have never visited a prettier scenery. The Spanish moss coats the trees and cascades down to play with the wind. It was a small ceremony, and we loaded up the SUV with 12 people to ride back to 109 West St. where the reception took place in a Victorian home. Free wine and homemade honey beer, excellent music, cheeses from Paris, and great company. It is the wedding season, and minus the plague of gnats, a few bug bites later-we left the party with our honey party favors and retreated back home. 

I find that many should partake in self-healing. Whether the stress is internal or external, it is important to take care of yourself before others. My escape is horseback riding. I feel so free and relieved of all duties. Nothing is more important than the bond between me and a horse. Just knowing that a 1200 lb animal could kill you instantly and chooses to trust you, is complete euphoria. People refer to it as a harmful addiction, I call it equasy. The sky truly is the limit when you're jumping it. Mujer del caballo para siempre.

el arco iris

 

This is what I saw on my way to work a few days ago.  The picture doesn't do it justice; it was much brighter than the pictures shows.  I remember one time as un nina that I road my bike as far as I could towards the rainbow's end because I wanted  to find the pot of gold. 

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This is a picture of a fox, zorra. It is nice to be so close to nature. I lived in a city for 14 years so I enjoy what's around me living in the country. I don't take it for granted. La naturaleza es espectacular. 

verificación de la realidad .... mi niñita

So Mr. Trujillo is really into wanting us all to get to know each other.  What do you do? For work? For fun?  What is your greatest possession?  What makes you belly laugh?  What is your favorite movie? Favorite quote?  

I used to be cool, had a plethora of friends, and loved a night on the town.  Times have changed and here we are. My delusions of grandeur for the day, these notions swaying to at any moment, especially as a mother of four are a reality. So lets see, for fun today, I woke at 6am to let two dogs out, and then I cleaned up the remnants of a rug that a German shepherd had torn to one billion single threads.   Yay me!   Then I got all prettied up for the drive to school, lipstick, blush, and curling iron, ah…no, I put on a sweatshirt and running shoes. The three oldest kids were readied for school and delivered at that precise moment of tardy bell rings, “run, run, I love you, have a great day!”  I return home and wait for the maid to arrive.  Yep, no maid, I still can dream-  she will show up one day.  In the meantime, I am forced to remove the massive dust bunnies that constantly appear, one would assume my dogs were bald.  Oh, but the fun begins when my toddler rises.  She is the ruler of our castle, we merely reside and abide by her every need and desire and yes she still sleeps with Mommy and Daddy and yes, she is four years old.  Save the judgment, we let Nana have that joy.  “Pick your battIes” they say and I listen then respond, “well, we respect the toddler.”   After number four, I lose most battles as my passion to win is lost.  Just morning, it was going to happen, a cupcake for breakfast- so I put it on her plate.  She takes one bite and gives it to Gus, the stinky Basset Hound she likes to nap with. I do hope these deeply held convictions, her enthusiasm, and her persistence, for it all to remain intact at least until she graduates college and lands a great paying job so she can afford the facility she will have forced me in. The dynamics of large families are different, social norms are lost. There are 6 people living together under one roof; it’s like a boxing ring or roller derby maybe. Never a dull moment, I promise. Being a parent is my greatest possession, as well as my sense of humor.  The four best things to ever happen in my world, in my eyes each one is a gift from God.  My kids define me, even when their eyes shine green and their heads spin or when in the middle of a department store with great discernment, submitting to the urge,  “I poopied.” But there is a truth, bittersweet it is, that comes along with the last, the youngest.   Nadine is not a perfect child, she does not listen, she hates my taste I clothes, eats weird foods but she is a sweet snuggler, and says the warmest “I love you”s at just the most needed times.  If you have kids, want  kids, are amused by kids or come from a large family, I strongly suggest http://www.jimgaffigan.com .  oh, my favorite movie is Despicable Me!

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hey Everyone!

I hope that everyone is able to take a break and get some ice cream! This is my godson Elijah and this picture has me dreaming of Spring Break because that's the next time I'm going to see him, He and his brother are the coolest, ever. I actually helped deliver both of them which is something I'll never forget and always treasure. By the way, this picture is extra awesome because this is him "not eating" his ice cream while his mom is helping get his younger brother situated.

Keep breathing, we're almost to spring break!

Meakin

This is a picture of Sammy the Seahawk and I in my sophomore year of the UNCW Pep Band. I have played the flute for 11 years and this year is bittersweet because it is my last year playing for a school setting. I am so excited that the band is able to travel with the men's and women's basketball teams as they travel to Maryland for the CAA tournament. I have always been a band geek and an avid sports fan so I love that I can put these two together and really have fun!

So if any of y'all come to the last few home games we have this weekend, give me wave up in the stands! :) 

This is a pictures of me taken at Silver Springs State Park near Ocala in north central Florida.  I was born in Ocala, and I used to go here all the time as a kid.  However, back then it was a "theme" park with rides and exhibits.  A few years ago, the state bought it, and it is now a state park.  I'm sitting on a twisty-curvy trunk of a palm tree that has been there for as long as I remember. Ocala and the surrounding area is known for their spring-fed rivers.  If you are a nature lover, you should check it out.  They're simply beautiful!

Also... fun fact for Walking Dead fans.....I just read that several scenes for this season will be filmed in Ocala.

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I'm so ready for Spring. Listo para la primavera. I'm enjoying these days of mild weather. It's been raining a lot. I expect to see lots of flowers in my yard. Espero ver muchas flores en mi jardín.

Hola! Below is a picture of me in Haiti. We took this picture after I taught them how to jump rope with the ones we brought to donate to their school and church. I have been on two mission trips so far to Haiti and I've loved every sweaty second of it! It has had a great impact on my life and I am so grateful for everything I have. The people of Haiti are so very kind and loving. I can't wait to go back and continue to the help! -Kelly Kreuz

Hola,
I hope everyone's semester is going well...I can't believe Spring Break is already coming up. I have been having a lot of fun planning my Study Abroad, as I am hoping to go to a Spanish-speaking country for that. Until I do however, I have had the opportunity to teach in Tanzania and cannot wait to do some more travelling and make more valuable connections around the world. Also, my brother and I recently took my mom to the Raleigh Museum of Art to see the DaVinci exhibit. He really likes posing like the statues so I figured I'd post one of those.
Cheers,
Meakin

     This is a picture of me getting ready to launch a weather balloon at the National Weather Service station in Newport, North Carolina.  I took a weather class offered by the American Meteorological Society, and this was one of our "field trips".   I really enjoyed that class and learned a lot about el tiempo. Now I'm taking a "Climate" class from them. If anyone is interested, the classes are gratis (FREE!)) and you can earn tres horas of graduate credit.  Here's  the  link:
https://www2.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/education-careers/education-program/k-12-teachers/datastreme-program/
   

This is a little letter sent by Ismael. I'm his Godfather. I'm proud to support him. I receive letters from him and I also send him letters. My parents have met him and he was elated about that. I will continue supporting him this year. This is some information about the place where he lives: Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos

Mi objectivo

The list is really endless.  I am getting of the age now, I need to start working on fulfilling my bucket list.  It is very disheartening when all of a sudden one realizes they are not young and hip any more, almost two decades not "hip" anymore.  There seems to be an ongoing theme of personal health and well-being with the students, running in particular.  If there is any advice to my peers is find something that you are able to do alone, anywhere, at anytime that is therapeutic to your soul.  I ran for years, had my kids, got out of the infant stages and started running again to find it to be even better than i found it before.  There is nothing more mind-clearing then to go out and run against the wind on the road or the highway, watching traffic, listening to your music, and realizing the world is yours.   No matter how terrible it seems the day I am having, I hit the road for one mile or 20, it is such a great feeling.  For those just starting out, or getting back, don't give up.  I loathe hearing  someone say they cannot run, or they only run when being chased, or the best "don't you like your knees."  It is all in the mind so don't give up.  Once you realize you are not going to pass out and that an 8 minute mile is the same as a 10 minute or a 12 minute mile, a mile is a mile.  The breathing will come, the time will level off, but the race should always be with yourself, and that is it, not a clock, another runner, just the thoughts in your own head.  The first race I ran, I stopped a hundred times because I did not think I could do it finally finishing it.  My goal this year is to complete a marathon and to attempt an ULTRA run.  The Tuna Run in the fall looks like so much fun, starting in Raleigh and ends on the Crystal Coast of NC.   As you can tell, running is a passion.   

Week goal for the weekend goals

Hola everyone!

This week my goal has been to actively search for a good place to volunteer at on the fines de semana (weekends), preferably working with the less fortunate. Please correo electrónico (email) me if you guys have a good idea for me, even if it is not with the less fortunate: djj5332@uncw.edu.

¡Hola clase!

¿Cómo están ustedes? I am really enjoying this weather...I'm working on getting back in shape and so it's allowing me to run Greenfield Lake with my pup-which is always awesome. I would also really like to do a meet-up salsa dancing night. It's usually at a bar and the first hour is the lesson and then it's an hour of attempting what you've learned and just having a good time. I've heard that they do them here, I went to a few in Portland when I lived there but I think that would be a really fun way to enrich this experience. Any takers? Also, I'm trying to take more of an advantage of all the free things to do in Wilmington. Anybody familiar with reoccurring activities downtown?

Hope all is well!
Meakin

P.S. This is my godson Davis realizing the snow melted in Chapel Hill so he couldn't go sledding.
This is also a face I feel when I missed part of an assignment lol.

Mi objetivo

I would like to run a 5K in under thirty minutes.  Even though I am a pretty fast sprinter, running long distances have always been difficult.  I always seem to get a stomach cramp or run out of breath, but a few years ago, I started running with my husband.  He's a former Marine, so he's been running as long as I've known him.

Another goal (el objetivo) I have is to be bilingual, which is why I'm taking  this clase.  I took a couple of years of high school Spanish, but I also study a little bit on my own.  Un nina I used  to work with told  me  that she learned to speak Spanish fluently just from listening to Spanish radio and television.  I'm not sure if that's true, but it probably helps, I suppose.  I feel that I'm learning more with each module and having to listen to myself say the words is helping with my pronunciation and fluency.  I would like to eventually take more clases de Espanol in the future.

Saturday Science

Just an update... My students (estudiantes)  and I are competing in the Onslow County Science Olympiad today.  It's a beautiful day in Jacksonville, and the kids (niños) are excited (entusiasmado) !  

We are launching rockets, solving crimes, flying paper airplanes, and showing our knowledge of animal adaptations, physics, landforms, and more.  Send some good vibes our way.

Ciencia Olimpiada.....Explorando el Mundo de la Ciencia

My Cat, Kovu

 

 

 

Buenos tardes, amigos!
So my family and I are cat people.  Not to mean that we have dozens of them running around our house (only two) but we prefer them over dogs.  This is Kovu, named after the character in Lion King 2.  My daughter snuck her in the house when she was a kitten several years ago.  Kovu loves boxes and laser pointers... and the sound of the can opener.

 

                                                              El gato es en la caja.

                                                           El gato es en la caja.

                                                         You get the point...

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I took this photo the other morning. Beautiful to me. I enjoy taking pictures. I wish the cows were more visible :) Espero que las vacas fueran más visibles. 

Two goals in my life

Buenos noches amigos y mi profesor! When I'm not at school I am having the most fun at the best place to work ever: After School Care! I am an after school teacher at a private school in Wilmington and boy, is it a circus. One of my ongoing goals involves being a positive and constant mentor for these children as well as making sure they have some fun in their day! The first picture is our after school bulletin board we just put up, isn't it love-ly? :) 

A goal in my life that I just can't seem to achieve for longer than 6 months at a time would have to be working out. I am going to try to be healthy and workout 5 days a week, once again. The new approach I'm trying requires me to wake up, get dressed, ir al gimnasio, and then start my day. This approach is difficult because I have to wake up earlier than I want to. I didn't go to the gym today, and it was supposed to be the "start of a healthier me"....I'm going to try again tomorrow, wish me luck! (Weights going up, on a Tuesday. Hopefully someone gets that song reference)

The other photo included is one of my leopard geckos, Nugget. He is almost one year old this febrero.

Hi everybody!

Ok, so my dog is basically my child so of course I had to include some pictures of him. I'm a born traveler so one of my goals is always to explore more. I've hitchhiked the States and lived in Tanzania thus far but can not WAIT to travel mas. I was very active in the sports world when I was younger so I'm working on getting back to that lifestyle, slowly but surely. Also, I read somewhere that in America, the average person reads less than 2 books a year! So I definitely would like to defy that statistic. Me encantan las linguas y siempre quiero aprender mas!

This is in Tanzania.

 This is here in Wilmywood.

 The last two are from me and Ziggy's hitch-hiking adventure, specifically in Oregon and San Fran.

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Hi everybody, these are pictures of me of warmer days. I enjoy taking pictures of my family and also of nature. I've wanted to take pictures of the colors of the leaves in the fall. It was last year when I finally spent time doing that. I'm enjoying the colors of the sky and I'm glad the days are getting a little bit longer. Feel free to write words in Spanish related to your non-academic life, in my case I would use naturaleza, fotografías y otoño.