Fun in the sun Florida 3

Surprise, surprise, I'm still here....lol!  I actually have a few posts I've written but never got around to publishing them. Most likely, I'm not sure if they'll ever get published. Nonetheless, I wanted to post at least our latest vacation we took during Spring Break, the week of April 17th.

Our family vacation was spent in "Sunsensational" Florida.  I had a friend ask me if this is now a yearly thing.  In a way it does appear that way as this is our 3rd consecutive trip to Florida.

As expected, the weather was beautiful and the skies were sunny and bright (unlike Utah).  This is the first time we've traveled anywhere during Spring Break.... AND! it will be the last time. Sophie will just have to miss some school.  The crowds were ridiculous and the lines never ending with a wait time of 185 mins for the more popular rides.

Aside from the gazillions of people everywhere, we all had a lot of fun!  We really needed the diversion from work, school, homework, looking at houses, and to unthaw (especially for me).

Instead of me babbling about our trip, sometimes looking at photos depicts an aspect I would otherwise not be able to convey.  So here goes:

Well, we didn't get in at the hotel we stayed at last time.
(I'll let hubby explain....lol)

But this one was just as good, though I preferred the decor at
Oceana Palms right up the street.

Master Bath

Master Closet

I love, love all the organizers which reminds me,

our next house will have my dream closet I've always wanted...

most likely with the help of IKEA.

Guest Bathroom 

Kitchen with washer/dryer behind closed doors. 

One thing about this particular hotel vs Oceana Palms, 

they had a very nice waterslide, which Sophie enjoyed immensely.

The view of the Atlantic Ocean from our hotel room is so
spectacular and yes, warmer than the Pacific Ocean.

Although temperatures were warmer than in Utah, 

it was still not warm enough for me to go in the water,

 especially the waterslide. 

 I really like to take a stroll on the beach, just taking in the scenery and
absorbing the smells, sounds...  feeling the sand between my toes.  

For me, it’s quite fun to look for different things in nature that
might see wash up on to the shore.  

 So, while walking with Soph and Vince, I saw a relatively big hole
in the sand and asked Sophie if she might know what animal made
that hole. Soph curiously looked at the hole and said,
“oooh....no, tell me." Vince then looked at the hole and said
"ohhh....hmmm, I see..... you mean like an umbrella pole?!?”

Hubby: "Why are you taking a picture of that boat we're not on?"

Singer Island

Singer Island is not really an island but a peninsula.  
It's 5 miles long and .5 mile wide, not too busy which is ideal for us. 

Enjoying the nice weather, the views of Singer Island and the ocean!

No matter how many times I've done this,
I still enjoy looking at all the Butterflies at EPCOT.

Sophie and Me at EPCOT
I remember my Mom used to plant marigolds (flowers behind us) to keep
rattlesnakes away from our house. I'm not sure if there's any truth to that,
but the colors definitely matched her cheerful personality.
So whenever I see marigolds, it makes me think of Mom.

Tutto Italia Restaurant at EPCOT
Want to see my review of this restaurant?
Go to www.tripadvisor.com
(Warning: some of the other reviews are not as favorable,
perhaps they were having an off day.)

Disney's Hollywood Studios

While here we were able to accomplish most everything 
we wanted to do, ride and see including The American Idol Experience. 
 I asked Sophie if she wanted to sing on the American Idol.  
Her answer was exactly what I expected.  "Noooo Waaaaay!!"

Universal's Islands of Adventure

This park was actually quite fun!   
I definitely want to return as we were not able to do everything we 
wanted to do, ride and see, like the Harry Potter ride.  
However, we were told that The Wizarding World of  Harry Potter 
might be a little too scary for Sophie, especially because she was a
little afraid of The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. 

In her words she said, "It was too much in my face."

Above, Sophie and her Daddy walking thru The Cat in the Hat.

Vince and Sophie standing outside of Poseidon's Fury.  

Even though you're standing up the entire time, I have to admit 

it was pretty awesome!  The special effects were pretty spectacular, 

something I've never seen before.  Sophie was a little afraid of this one too 

because she said it was "waaay tooo hot with all the explosions 

and waaay too cold with the wind and rain."

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges

You will get soaked on this ride!!

Also, if you ride Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.... You will get semi-soaked
 especially if you're sitting in the the first 3 rows in the front, which is
where I ended up, then Sophie, then Vince ;o/
The 2 girls sitting in rows 4 and 5 actually wanted to get wet and didn't.
If I only knew that ahead of time I would have
gladly switched with them.  But then hubby told me I would have ended
up sitting in row 3 anyway, while he and Sophie would have sat in rows 4 and 5 ;o/ ....Hah!

"Soph, smile...." Right before getting drenched on Popeye's ride.

All good things must come to an end... Miss Bee and VibesUp Teddy, placed carefully on Soph's bed by the hotel cleaning services.  

Alright, that's all for now.  Hope this gives you a glimpse what a wonderful time we had. And yes, we'll probably end up in Florida again for our next family vacation.  I wouldn't be surprised if one day we buy a little hut there :D

Situation

Sitting here helping Soph with her homework. She has homework every week and a spelling test every Friday. So far, she's made all 100's. She's making improvements with her math, though I can see that definitely is not her forte.

I had a nice chat with Soph's teacher last week. It seems she has opened up quite a bit (Soph has told me in past that she's only shy when she wants to be) to the point her teacher and I agree that both Brooklyn and Sophie need to be separated. So next month, (thank goodness), Mrs. Wilson shuffles everyone around to a new table. Actually, that's good and bad. She currently sits next to a boy that is very bright, especially in math.

You see every afternoon, I would review Sophie's school work and ask why she didn't complete her math worksheets. The stock response she told me daily was, "well, Brooklyn didn't do hers either. That's why I didn't do it.".....arghhh! If Sophie is going to be a follower, I would prefer she follows someone bright in areas she's weak. I'm sure she'll outgrow being a sheep if she has an ounce of her Daddy's character, who is without question not a Norway lemming even though he's Belgian.

Wow! I definitely don't want to go through the situation I'm in EVER again. The last time I went to the ER was when I delivered Sophie. So, it's been awhile since I've required medical attention. It actually started Friday, when my head was hurting pretty bad around my brows and my eyes, sharp stabbing pain. Then my eyes turned bright red. I thought I had pink eye at first, but was not sure since the symptoms were totally different other than my eyes being red.

It got to the point Saturday evening, I decided to seek what was really going on as it was quite alarming and I knew hubby was leaving Sunday. So as a family, we all went to the new ER located off State Street, which btw is very nice and new, St. Mark's Hospital. Luckily, there was no waiting at all and we were immediately escorted to one of the rooms where they attached me to all the different vital machines. Don't laugh but my blood pressure was elevated (i.e. 124/74), due to nerves, cramping in my stomach (i.e. stomach virus, something I've never had in my life until now), and the issues with my eyes. Of course the nurses thought my bp was normal, my temperature was only 99˚F... so really no temperature. All my vitals checked out to be fine, except for the cramping thru out my gastrointestinal tract, ughmm... diarrhea, some tiredness, headaches and red eyes. I believe the supplements I had been taking alleviated all of the other symptoms which I did not exhibit - i.e. nausea, vomiting, fever, etc. associated with a virus.

The ER doctor told me basically that my now diagnosed "iritis" is likely a manifestation of the stomach virus I had. I guess the remnants of the virus making it's final attack before fading; and thankfully it did the next day, Sunday.  It was also confirmed today by my primary doctor I definitely had a virus according to the CBC lab results.  All my numbers were back to normal; it lasted 7 days exactly.

Finally, after 2.5 hrs in the ER room, gulping my yummy, delicious (NOT!) GI cocktail, getting a couple of prescriptions, etc. the nurse once again took my vitals. All was back to normal, my oxygen saturation was 96, which is good and my blood pressure was "my" normal 115/60. I'm so glad we went to the ER. I would never have known what I had until it was probably too late. Iritis is something very serious and can eventually cause cataracts, glaucoma, to loss of vision (yikes!) if not treated right away and aggressively. In this case, I would have preferred having "pink eye" which is a lot less serious.

First thing Monday morning, I immediately made an appointment with an Opthamologist who could see me the same day, accepted my insurance, and was accepting new patients....sheesh!  The doctor now has me on medication (i.e. prednisone) for the inflammation. Luckily, I was spared not having to take an antibiotic since there were no signs of an infection. My doctor said, "we can do a lot of tests, spend lots of your money..." if I want to find the etiology of my iritis. But, I said "no".... I just want it to go away as soon as possible, especially because after going through all of that, there's still a big chance they still won't know what caused it anyway. We can currently chalk it up to the stomach virus and also the possibility that I may have an antigen called HLA-B27.

An HLA-B27 is sometimes ordered to help evaluate someone with iritis that is not caused by a recognizable disease process, which is the case with me. Because I reacted strongly to the stomach virus, my eye doctor suspects I may have this antigen. This will be confirmed when I have my next lab work. Very curious to know.

So the little bit of research I was able to do was enough for me to be grateful we went to the ER when we did. Otherwise, I might have thought I had pink eye, even though it wasn't anything I've experience in the past. Early detection is key to resolving this iritis issue, as well as, getting on proper medication as early as possible before it can lead to a more serious outcome.

As a side note, I think it's odd how taking medication like prednisone drops will help you from getting cataracts and glaucoma initially. But if you take it long term it will actually give you cataracts and/or glaucoma.  There was a lady in the waiting room at the eye doctor. She had been suffering 2 years to find our recently she has Crohn's disease, after many colonoscopies, surgeries, endless tests....taking steroids.  She now has cataracts at a very young age (i.e. 40's)  in my mind.

Anyway, hubby always thinks I'm against using conventional medicine, but when it's serious, acute, I have no qualms at all. First address the problem with something that's going to work immediately, then once every thing is back on track and stabilized,  I can then fix the secondary problems that arise from it more naturally.

For more information about iritis, I found this article which I'm posting herein. Below the article is just a recap of where we are with our move:

 IRITIS / UVEITIS

IRITIS, a form of Anterior Uveitis is a term for an inflammatory disorder of the colored part of the eye (iris). In the majority of cases there is no specific cause. Occasionally, iritis is just one symptom of a disease that affects other organ systems.  These are called connective tissue diseases and include: rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoid , lupus , scleroderma , Behcet's disease , anklylosing spondylitis, Reiter's disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and B-27 disease.  Sometimes, it is necessary to establish whether iritis/uveitis is a manifestation of one of these or some other underlying systemic disease. 

The symptoms of iritis include light sensitivity, red eye, blurred vision, tearing, pain, and sometimes floaters. The pupil may appear small in the affected eye when compared to the normal pupil. Frequently iritis is a recurrent problem; after a few episodes patients become very astute at early diagnosis. Iritis is sometimes confused with conjunctivitis, a much less serious disorder of the clear outer lining of the eye.

The secrets to the successful treatment of iritis is early detection and proper choice of medicines. Therapy consists of anti-inflammatory and dilating drops. These medicines decrease the inflammation and reduce the scarring that can occur.  Persistent cases may require more intensive treatment.  Successful treatment of iritis depends on careful and consistent compliance by the patient.

In serious cases, complications may arise. Cataracts, glaucoma, and corneal changes are possible consequences of both the disease and the medicines used to treat it. Careful observation is needed in the resolving phase to monitor potential problems. If the medicines are withdrawn too rapidly, a recurrence is very possible.

What are the symptoms of iritis? The symptoms of iritis usually appear suddenly and develop rapidly over a few hours or days. Iritis commonly causes pain, tearing, light sensitivity and blurred vision. A red eye often occurs as a result of iritis. Some patients may experience floaters, small specks or dots moving in the field of vision. In addition, the pupil may become smaller in the eye affected by iritis.

How is iritis diagnosed? A careful eye exam is extremely important when the symptoms of iritis occur, as inflammation inside the eye can affect sight and could lead to blindness. A slit lamp, which illuminates and magnifies the structures of the eye, is commonly used to detect any signs of inflammation.  A diagnosis is often made on the basis of an eye examination from an eye care provider.

Since iritis can be associated with another disease, an evaluation of the patient¹s overall health is sometimes necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, blood tests, skin tests, and x-rays may be conducted and other specialists may be consulted to determine the cause of the inflammation.

How is iritis treated? Treatment of iritis is often directed at finding and removing the cause of the inflammation. Steroid eye drops (1% Pred Forte) and ointments are the main stay of treatment.  They work by quieting the inflammation.  Additionally drops that dilate the pupil may be added to reduce any scarring which may occur and make the eye more comfortable.  The application of hot packs may also provide relief from the symptoms of iritis. In severe cases, oral medications and injections may be added.

A case of iritis usually lasts 6 to 8 weeks. During this time, the patient must be observed carefully to monitor potential side effects from medications and any complications which may occur. Cataracts, glaucoma, corneal changes, and secondary inflammation of the retina may occur as a result of iritis and the medications used to treat the disorder.

Loss of sight can be prevented: Since iritis is an inflammation inside the eye, the condition is potentially sight threatening. Proper diagnosis and prompt treatment of iritis are essential. To minimize any loss of vision, the patient should have a complete eye examination as soon as symptoms occur. If diagnosed in the early stages, iritis can usually be controlled with the use of eye drops before vision loss occurs.

So, we're planning on moving for sure in 2 more weeks. We won't close on our house until the end of the month. This works out perfectly so we don't have to rush and move out the same day we close....waaay tooo stressful.  I certainly don't need another iritis attack!

I can't wait to get moved/settled in before the first snowfall. Looking forward to having someone else remove the snow for a change. And hey we have a heated lap pool right next to our town home. Sophie can't wait to jump in. Although, I would prefer she waits until next May.

Our new kitchen with staggered custom cabinets.  If you enlarge, it'll give you an idea how my vision appears, just 10x worse, cloudy and blurry.

That's all the excitement for now, albeit not a lot of fun for me :o/  However, I do feel things are going much smoother now.

One last final word, it's easy to not take a supplement when you're feeling well. But if you're under a lot of stress, I think the most important thing you can do for your health is to take probiotics on a daily basis, 2x a day, eat yogurt, drink probiotic juice, eat kimchee, sauerkraut, etc... just anything to supplement your gut with all the good bacteria. It can help keep at bay any food poisoning, stomach viruses, or viruses in general you come in contact with from taking a foothold in your body and your health.  I'm back to regaining a good flora and fauna in my gut this winter.  Hope you do the same :)

Be Well!

Not the status quo

Yes, I am still here. Staying ever so busy with mundane business, packing boxes starting with obscure areas of the house, getting all my ducks in a row for our move to take place the first part of October. I've had so much on my mind that I've almost forgotten to pick Soph from school twice, especially on Friday's when she gets out early. If it were not for hubby inquiring and reminding me from AZ, I would surely have forgotten Poopsie for sure. If you know me, you know that this is so unlike me; you see my middle names are "dependable and reliable."

So, we are moving the first of October. We're moving in an area I've had my eyes set on the past year and a half. Sometimes, I can't believe it's actually going to happen (or maybe I should first knock on some wood). We are going to rent to see how the market behaves before buying our "retirement" home. Heck, we may even consider buying the town home we're renting. It's a huge step down from what we've had in the past, not in quality, but in size.  We want less fuss with everything in owning a home, to include square footage, yard work, snow removal, etc. When I see all the big homes with big yards around us, all I can think of is "work, work, work!" Am I showing my age....lol.

Soph's first day at school was Tuesday, August 24th. Her teacher, Mrs. Wilson is fantastic. She's very experienced / qualified having taught 5th grade English and specializes in Reading and Math. Soph likes her a lot! One of the things I really like about this school is that all 1st graders rotate in a French class. Next year I'm going to enroll her in the French Dual Immersion Program, which actually starts in 1st grade, but I missed the deadline due to the fact I wasn't sure which school Sophie was going to end up at. Anyway, students in this program receive 50% of their instructions in English and 50% in French. Her Daddy is going to have fun helping her out with her French and maybe I can freshen up on my French a oui bit.

Soph loves her new school and prefers to bring her lunch everyday, which is fine by me. She was so worried that she would not make any friends, but knowing Soph-Soph I knew it wouldn't take long; she's very easy going and caring. She made friends immediately with 2 girls the very first day, Brooklyn and Lanon. Mrs. Wilson said at this age, there's no competition in who's getting more attention or who's getting left out and that the three girls all get a long very well. She calls them the Three Musketeers. Lanon's mom and I are becoming pretty good friends too. Lanon's mom, Anna, has her own hair salon plus she's a Realtor. Currently, I get free manicures in exchange in helping her out with her website (not that I'm any good at it, but as with everything it's all relative)....lol.

There are a lot of boys (as previous) in her class - 14 boys and 8 girls. Another 1st grade class has even more boys!; Of course at this age, Sophie isn't very excited about all the boys. Her response to boys..."eeeewww, boys, boys are disgusting, boys are not my friends. I like girls. I'm friends with the prettiest girls, not the boys."

I am definitely not going to be a Room Mom this year, but I will volunteer from time-to-time not only to help out but to see what they're learning. I like to be involved in Soph's education as much as possible. Even the school Principal said that they have found that children of parents who get involved in their education do better academically and socially.

Here's a picture of Sophie hopping in on the driver's seat at every opportunity. I go through this pretty regularly, where she climbs into the drivers seat and pretends to be driving. All the buttons, knobs, dials on the dashboard fascinates her so much! She must get this from her Daddy. I can't believe she's already talking about getting a convertible when she's older.

Last final note, we lost Ernie. The past few months, he was having excessive complications due to his old age. It actually all started last fall/winter when his neurological problems became apparent... unable to walk, tripping all over himself, running into things, barking at Chief all the time, roaming around in circles aimlessly in the backyard, getting lost in corners, paralysis....it was really sad to see the decline in his health. He was also having some kidney issues, drinking a lot of water and barely eating. He used to weigh 45 lbs. and dropped down to 35 lbs. Of course, he was 14.5 years old and never once was sick. He was the best sentry dog anyone could ask for. He will be missed. I'm sure Scottie is very happy to see Ernie :)

Ernie-Bernie, March 1996 - September 2010

Fun in the sun in Florida 2

Because we had so much fun last September in Florida, we decided to return to the Sunshine State for our spring vacation. We covered a lot of ground packed in 8 days, visited Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Sea World, Epcot, Cocoa Beach and West Palm Beach. Our trip didn't get off to a good start as we had to hang out more than 2 hours in the plane, waiting for the snow storm to let up, the plane to get de-iced, and everything else in between that resulted in a series of 40 minute delays...whew!!

Seven hours later, what was supposed to be a 4 hour trip, we finally arrived in Orlando to bright, sunny, warmer weather.  Here's a view from our hotel room.  If you like to golf, this looked like a great place to do so.

Once we arrived at the parks, the lines were quite short even for all the popular rides. The longest we had to wait was 10 mins, although there was one ride where the wait time was 40 mins., but someone kindly gave us their Fast Pass tickets.  How cool was that!!  Although this probably makes the 10th time hubby has been on the "It's a small world" ride, he does it for Soph as it's actually one of her favorite rides at Magic Kingdom.

While Universal Studios was a blast for both hubby and me, especially all the simulated, 3-D, 4-D rides... not so for Soph.

We didn't have time to try out all the different rides, but out of the ones we did, Vince and I REALLY liked The Simpson Ride.  That was such a blast that gave the sensation of really being on a roller coaster initially, getting spit out of Maggie's mouth after we got close to her tonsils, spit and all.  And had lots of loop de loops through donuts and one surprise after another in a make believe theme park called Krustyland.

Epcot was beautiful with all it's the artistic gardens. Here's one I like not only because of Mickey and Minnie but because of the sunflowers, one of my favorite flowers.

We got to eat at the French restaurant, Les Chefs de France.

Meet the animated Remy, the French chef rat from Ratatouille. Here again, Soph was not too sure about the rat. Vince and I thought he was soooo cute!

However, she fell in love with the French kitty.  So we got her a smaller version of the kitty that has now become Soph's constant companion.

Last September, we ate at Germany which was quite delicious.  Next time we want to try out Italy.  It's so  much fun to eat at all these different countries.

Sea World is always a fun and pretty place to visit.  Unlike Universal Studios, the surrounding was more peaceful and calm, no loud music blaring.  Hmmm! Are we showing our age?

Our little family

Shamu Show

Here's a manatee, a large aquatic herbivore marine mammal.  I always learn something new when I visit Sea World. Manatee's closest relatives include the elephants and the hyrax (found in Africa and Arabia).   If you look at their faces, they are actually quite cute.  This is the first time I've seen a manatee calf nursing.

I also learned that the reason flamingoes are pink is because they eat shrimp, brine shrimp to be exact.  It's the beta carotene, (you know the same beta carotene found in carrots that makes it orange) in the brine shrimp that actually turns the flamingoes feathers pink. Who Knew?

In this picture, it looks as if Sophie is swimming with the dolphins, getting ready to dive up.

Then we made a quick stop to Cocoa Beach and had lunch....on our way to West Palm Beach.

Sophie and me

Daddy and Sophie

West Palm Beach was probably Soph's favorite place of all....no loop de loops and walking everywhere. Actually, it was a great place for all of us. We stayed at Marriott's newly opened Oceana Palms, located at The Palm Beaches.  It was like home away from home and believe me we did not want it to end.  Our spacious luxurious villa had 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a well equipped kitchen and laundry.  Here are some photos although the photos really don't do it justice.

View from our back patio

Nice cabanas

Master Bedroom

Lots of ooohs and ahhhs

Master Bathroom

Sophie's Bedroom

Sophie's Bathroom

Living Room

Fully equipped kitchen with a better dishwasher than we have in our own home.

Back patio off living room.

Sophie loved her room.

Soph's favorite swimming pool at dusk.

Here are some more photos, that ends with a very tired, but satisfied Sophie on the plane back to Salt Lake City.

Daddy, Soph...our hotel in the background.

Soph could spend hours playing and making sand castles.  But what kid doesn't like playing on the beach? Including the big one.

Becoming such a big girl!

Daddy and Soph (in the cold water).  Too cold for me!

Just Me

Rinsing off the sand.

Soph's favorite water slide.

Who can resist that face at Lion Country Safari.

Feeding crackers to Cupid.

Walking on the beach.

The End!