The Worst Day

 On Saturday November 23, I woke up to the news that my dad had passed away in his early morning sleep and my whole world changed in that one moment. 

My dad, Paul F. Olson, was born on March 20, 1935 in Iron Mountain, Michigan.  He was the oldest of three boys. 

He loved his guitar

My dad's father was an alcoholic and, while my dad kept in touch with his "old man", he was not a part of their daily family life.  After graduating from high school, my dad moved to Milwaukee and worked, sending money home to his mom to help support his two younger brothers.  At the same time he attended and graduated from the Milwaukee School of Engineering.  He joined the army, met my mom at a little cafe she worked at, and was deployed to Korea.

After getting back from Korea, my parents married on August 18, 1962.

August 18, 1962

According to my mom, she could not understand how such a handsome man would want anything to do with her.  She had some self-esteem issues.   

My sister and I were born only 15 months apart. We had the best childhood growing up in the 1970's in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  He worked at Rockwell as a system's analyst from 1966 until he retired in 1992.  Even though he officially retired in 1992, he continued to work at Rockwell, paid hourly through a temp agency called Manpower, whenever they needed him until about 2000.

In 1972 they purchased this state-of-the-art Rolite camper (a beauty in those days - haha) and every summer we were off on an adventure across the United States and Canada.  This is why I have been in 43 of the 50 states.  As we got older, my parents continued to travel without us and had been in all 50 states.  They also enjoyed cruises to the Panama Canal and the Norwegian Fjords.

When I was about 10, I became a HUGE daddy's girl.  I took advantage of every opportunity I had to spend time with him - which is how I got into football.  Every Sunday in fall I would plop myself on the floor in the living room and watch the Packers game.  I asked him a million questions in an effort to get any understanding out of what I was watching.  I'm sure it drove him crazy, but he patiently answered every question. 

As my sister and I grew through our teenage years and into adulthood, we knew that there was no problem my dad could not help us fix.  He protected and took care of us and we always felt so secure knowing he was there for us. 

50th Wedding Anniversary in 2012

Over the past year his health declined rapidly and we knew this day was coming way sooner than any of us wanted it to (I mean - you don't ever want it to!!!).  

So while my dad is rejoicing in the presence of God, we are left here - heartbroken.  💔💔💔 But not without hope that we will one day see him again.  

HHN Houses 3 and 4

 Continuing with the Halloween Horror Night 2024 house countdown...

House #4

MONSTERS: ETERNAL BLOODLINE

This house was at the back of the park right next to Goblins, Having these two houses next to each other was a very welcome change this year as in year's past the walk to exit these back two houses was LONG - and you had to make that walk twice.  Having these houses together shaved off about a half hour of time. 

Picture Credit wdwwnt.com

I liked the story behind this house.  As soon as you enter, you see a woman kneeling by a grave promising to exact revenge on the one's responsible for her father's death.  As you walk through the house, you encounter her challenging the various monsters as she searches for an amulet.  This house definitely had a creepy vibe for me - in a good way.   

Picture Credit wdwwnt.com

photo credit: https://halloweenhorrornights.fandom.com/

photo credit: x.com

Walkthrough credit: Attractions Magazine

House #3

Major Sweets

I loved the idea of this house.  You arrive to chaperone a field trip and meet Major Sweets and Miss Sweet (sometimes - she wasn't always there).  Everything seems great at first but then Major Sweets decides to test a special formula on the school children. Things turn ugly quickly and the students turn into psycho killers.  

Walkthrough credit: Attractions Magazine

HHN Houses 5 and 6

 House #6

A QUIET PLACE

We all know the movie - don't you dare make a sound or the sightless alien monsters who use some form of advanced echolocation to locate their prey, will snatch you up and presumably eat you.

I found this house to be very middle of the road for me - thus the #6 ranking.  The house had very little appeal for me beyond the clattering noise made by the aliens (which gives me the feeling that I should find the nearest hiding place and BE QUIET), and some pretty cool and massive animatronic aliens in the final room.

Image from NBC Universal

Walkthrough credit: Attractions Magazine

House # 5

Insidious: The Further

I am an insidious amateur and have only seen the first movie.  Fortunately you don't have to be well-versed in the Insidious movies to enjoy the house.  One of my favorite things about the house is the giant read door you have to walk-through at the beginning of the house while a woman's voice repeats, "now go outside, let my voice be your guide, keep a steady stride, into the further we go."  Step beyond the door and you enter the further. The more you walk, the deeper you go. 

Many tagged this the scariest house of 2024 but, while the walk-through had its moments of thrills (I mean who wouldn't be at least a little scared of that old woman), I never had the feeling of entrapment, disorientation, or claustrophobia that others have written about.  

Walk-through from Attractions Magazine

Hurricane Milton

 We've had a few unexpected days off here thanks to a hurricane crossing the state.  We did have school Tuesday thank goodness, as most schools in our area did not (one less day to make up).  We had off yesterday, today, and will not have school tomorrow either.  A lot of people are without power, including my parents in Flagler Beach.  We are fortunate that our power lines are underground - most likely because of being on the same grid as Sea World - so we were not in jeopardy of losing power. 

During the day yesterday we had some rain bands on and off - some heavy - but not really any wind.  The worst of the storm, I've been told, was between 4-6 am.  I slept all night long.  This morning, Zack and I took a walk around our complex to see the damage.

A lot of debris and some trees down, but not as bad as it could have been.  I have been trying to find an accurate recording of maximum wind speeds, but the best I could find was from the Orlando Airport (about 10 miles away) which had a recorded wind gust of  almost 80 mph around 5:00 am.  

We made it through another hurricane.  Honestly, this is the first hurricane we did not evacuate for. When the kids were little they would be pretty scared at the thought of hurricanes and the chance of a tornado so we/I would take them away. The past few years my parents would want to leave so Zack and I (and Ollie) would pack-up and go with them to share the driving.  This time, I don't think my dad would have done very well leaving his home.  Of course, if it was a life and death situation for them I would have taken them out of there, but they live on the ocean side and this hurricane came in on the gulf side so there was no imminent danger to them.  I'm just praying their power is restored soon.  You would think in a retirement community the power lines would be buried.  

HHN Houses 7 and 8

 Let's get right in to it ---

8). The Museum: Deadly Exhibits

Per Universals HHN website: A folklore's museum's newest exhibit, The Rotting Stone, has released an evil spirit that decays everything. 

This house was a "meh" for me.  It was simply just ok.  It offered some interesting sets and scareactors, but it really lacked a good scare. The "creep value" was just not there for me.

Walk through from Attractions Magazines

7). Goblin's Feast

Walk through a goblin village where a feast is being prepared for goblins, orcs, hobgoblins, and witches. This is no ordinary feast though, as the guests (you) are on the menu. The puppets in this house are pretty good, but my favorite parts were a life-sized water wheel and a giant goblin hand.  As in Museum, you are "running" for your survival.

picture credit: wdwnt.com

Walk through from Attractions Magazine

The biggest change this year -- and a VERY welcome one, was the location of these two back houses (Goblin's Feast and Eternal Bloodlines).  The entrances to these back to houses used to be by ET and the walk to exit after going through the house would take forever!  This year, they put them together which was awesome!! It literally saved us 20 minutes of walking time.  

picture credit: wdwnt.com

HHN 2024 Houses 9 and 10

Our routine this year was starting at the back of the bark as always and working our way to the front.  This was usually the order

1 - Goblin's Feast

2 - Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines

3). Slaughter Sinema 2

4). The Museum: Deadly Exhibits

5). Major Sweets Candy Factory

6). Triplets of Terror

7). Insidious: The Further

8). Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

9). A Quiet Place

10). Monstrous: Monsters of Latin America

THE COUNTDOWN

 These bottom two houses didn't take much thought.  I think to most people these houses may have pushed the boundaries, but for my sensitive self, they over-stepped them.  

Here they are....

10). Monstrous: Monsters of Latin America

           The house features three monster legends - Tiahuelpuchi, La Lechuza, and El Sibon.

         The first room, a small cemetery, was innocent enough, but upon entering the second room, you see a mother standing next to a baby carriage saturated in blood and screaming for help.  As if that image wasn't bad enough, in the next room you encounter the creepy monster munching on the "baby".  A couple more visions of blood-soaked baby beds and I had had enough.  

       But it didn't end there because the second monster is apparently nothing more than a pig butcher.  Pig parts everywhere including pigs that been cut in half hanging from the ceiling. 

      So because I am not a huge fan of baby killing (and eating) or pig killing...this house was the definitive bottom for me. 

Image from Lindsay Land (Youtube still shot). This winged creature was the only good thing about this house.

Walk-through video from Attractions Magazine

9). Triplets of Terror

          The story of this house introduces us to the Barmy Family  on March 3, 1984 who were having a birthday party for their triplets, Melody, Harmony, and Junior, who are turning 9.   Instead, the triplets slaughtered their entire family.  The triplet killers seek to recreate their family's murder every 10 years.  This particular year of 2024, they are preparing to recreate the scene in Cradleton, Pennsylvania.

      While I like the backstory and, overall, this was not a terrible house, there was a dog killing and that was enough for me to hate it. A dog killing is bad enough, but to have a room where you hear the dog whimpering, bones cracking, and then see the dead dog on top of the washing machine - NOT FOR ME thank you!

Walkthrough video from Attractions Magazine

Next up: Houses 7 and 8

2024 HHN - An Overview

 This was my ninth Halloween Horror Nights (since there was none in 2020) and over the years, I have had many different kinds of tickets and each one has its plusses and its negatives.  

Two times I have purchased the all-event express pass.  I loved the idea of going many times and the shortened wait times that allowed us to do ALL the houses when we'd go.  What I didn't love was the price.  I had this ticket the first year I was down here (2015) and again last year.  My son helped me out with the cost because I would never have been able to do it on my own.   

Years 2016-2019 I did not buy a ticket but instead used my Universal Employee ID to get in.  The plus side of this is that it did not cost me a single penny. Also, it was so convenient parking in the employee parking lot and entering and leaving through the back of the park.  The negative side was, of course, not being able to go through a lot of the houses.  We would get there right at 6 and go through the houses in the back of the park while there was little to no wait. We'd see the Bill and Ted show and then I would leave and let CJ go through the houses using his express pass. 

In 2021, I got a full event ticket without express. The positive to this was that it was cheaper than the express and I was able to go for the entire duration of the event (although I missed an entire week due to having Co-Vid).  Again, the down side, was not being able to go through a lot of the houses; basically being limited to the houses at the back of the park.  

In 2022, I bought a "short-event" ticket with express.  This ticket was only good through September but did include the express.  The positive to this was that it was much cheaper than the full event and yet I could still go for a month and, using the express, we were able to get through all the houses when we would go. The negative was that I felt sad knowing that HHN was not over, but I could not go anymore. 

Last year I got the full event express - VERY expensive, but a great experience being able to attend the entire event and get through all 10 houses each time.  

This year, I went back to the "short-event" option.  So, for me, HHN is over  *tears* even though it is still going on for another 4 weeks.  It really is the best option for me when factoring cost.  

We squeezed a lot into September trying to get the most out of my ticket.  Most nights we'd get through all ten houses.  

Unfortunately, a new development this year seemed to be an allergy to something and every night I would come home with either a nasty rash or hives. 

Very confusing and frustrating. I would put hydrocortisone cream on when I'd get home and most days it would be gone or almost gone by the next day.  

This year, I am going back to a countdown to #1.  Be back tomorrow with houses #8-10.

Another Last Day

 That is a wrap on the 2023-2024 school year. 

I spent this year at Central Florida Christian Academy.  The school is associated with Church at the Cross; a fitting name since the cross in the courtyard is 189 feet high (same as Cinderella's Castle at the Magic Kingdom).  

PICTURE FROM SCHOOL'S FACEBOOK

PICTURE FROM WEBSITE OF ANDREW PLATT STUCCO AND PLASTERING , INC

 I had an amazing and wonderful year!  It is for sure in top 5 of my teaching career.

  It didn't start out that way as, for the first few weeks, I had a student who was dealing with some anger issues.  As a teacher, you want to be able to help every child, but unfortunately it didn't go that way. His method of coping with his anger was being physically aggressive with the other students.  It got the point where he had to be by my side every minute.  He could not sit with the others at lunch, had to walk next to me instead of in the line, could not take part in recess, and could also not take part in specials such as art, PE, and STEM.  Being a private school, we did not have a counselor to help him and  we were working with a non-sustainable solution.  We had to let him go.   

The rest of the year was excellent and the students made it a joy to be there everyday!  They had their moments, but overall they played well together and most of all they loved to learn and willingly stepped up to every challenge I gave them. 

                                      MATH

In Math, they wowed me with their number sentences. 

Taken in December

Taken in May

Pretty impressive for 7 and 8 year-olds.  This is an ongoing process that starts with number sense.  The know their multiplication facts through song and so I teach them how to multiply across 0's and the order of operations. In the first picture, they were connecting their knowledge of counting quarters and relating it to multiplication.  I also taught them to do double-digit by double-digit multiplication using the box, expanded form, and multiplication across 0's. 

My success in teaching Math comes from creating an accepting, relaxing, and non-stressful environment and by introducing skills and benchmarks early so that by the time they encounter them in the curriculum, they are proficient.  Most of my students will tell you that Math is their favorite subject. I didn't feel nearly as successful this year; the two 40-minute specials a day took a chunk out of the time I usually spent teaching Math.  

                                  READING

Most of the kids entered with a good reading base. The first fluency read I did (August) resulted in a class average of 72 words per minute.  The year ended with an average of 150 words per minute.  This is well above the national normed reference of 100 words per minute for Spring of 2nd grade.  ALL of them ended the year reading over 100 words per minute.  

Fluency is a very important skill in reading because without it, a student will struggle with understanding what they are reading.  Comprehension is an important part of reading as well as prosody. They all come in reading like robots (normal for their age) and it takes a lot of work to get them to understand character identification and situational awareness so they are able to read with the proper tone, intonation, and feeling.  This Spring we read Because of Winn Dixie and I could hear the growth through the novel reading.  Toward the end, I rarely had to tell to think about the feelings of the character, think about what the situation was, and to read appropriately.  

As a side note, after we read the book, we watched the movie and it was so funny to see the kids react with surprise and glee as each character was introduced.  

This summer I am hoping to get some hours at Huntington and will also be teaching summer school at my old school for the last three weeks. I also what to get some online professional development classes done through the Bob Jones website.  

I can't believe it's been a year (June 5) since this, 

 One year later and I am healthy and have have clear skin thanks to Methotrexate.  

The Magic Continues

 As I eluded to in a previous post, as a fan of the Orlando Magic we became quite accustomed to lots of mediocre to downright awful games and seasons since Dwight Howard left in 2011. 

To be exact 

- 243 wins

- 603 losses

As bad as that is, it becomes worse when you think one can assume some of those 243 wins came only because the other team looked at the Magic as their chance to exercise "load management."  

While finishing 34 - 48 last season wasn't exactly anything to boast about, their (very) young players showed moments of brilliance and gave all the fans hope for the future.  

Before this season started, most fans would probably say they would have been happy with a .500 record and a game in the play-in.  But as the season wore on they exceeded these expectations and positioned themselves squarely in the playoff race.  They ended the season with a 47 - 35 record, the best winning percentage (.573) since 2010-2011, 1st place in the Southeast Conference, and 5th place in the Eastern Conference. This was good enough for the playoffs and first round match-up with the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

It was highly suspected that Cleveland tanked toward the end of the regular season so that they could play the Magic and avoid having to play a "better" team.  Orlando almost made them regret this decision, gave them everything they could handle, and took the series to 7 games.  

Image from Google - Fadeaway World

Image from Google - ClutchPoints

But I want to talk about game 3 ------- because --------I WAS THERE!!!!  It was on Thursday April 25.

The Amway Center is now the Kia Center
Image from Google - Spectrum 13 News

This was my first ever NBA playoff game. I was so excited when my son told me he got tickets and let's just say, the atmosphere did not disappoint. 

The team were coming home down 0-2 after struggling on offense in both games played in Cleveland and, early on, it looked as if we'd have little to cheer about as the offensive woes continued.  But then, as quick as switching on a light, the shots started falling, the Magic pulled ahead, and never looked back.  The 3rd period clearly put some distance between them as they outscored Cleveland 35 - 16. 

The final score was 121 - 83. It was the worst playoff loss in Cleveland Cavalier history and it sent a message that Orlando was not going to be as easy to overcome as they had thought.  It was the best evening I have had in a long time!!!!!!  

Image from Google - Orlando Pinstriped Post

Image from Google - Fear the Sword

Image from Google - Goal.com

The future looks bright. And just in time as it appears as if the Lightning are going downhill.  

 

 

 

 

 

This 'Magic'al Season

 We are a family of long-suffering Orlando Magic fans - well three of us are anyway.  The other two tend to sway towards the Milwaukee Bucks.  But I digress.

  Living in Orlando and being a fan of the Orlando Magic has meant we have attended a slew of average to below average games. They had some pretty good players on the teams through the years, but just could not find a combination that clicked or jelled.  

Since moving to Orlando in 2015, the Magic's record has been 241-376 (not including this current season). This includes the bleak 2020-2021 season record of 21-51 and the equally horrible 2021-2022 season record of 22-60 when they decided to overhaul the whole team and do a complete rebuild.

Emerging from these seasons at the basement of the league, meant high draft choices and in 2021, the Magic had two which they used to snag Jalen Suggs with the 5th overall pick and Franz Wagner with the 8th overall pick.  In 2022, the Magic hit a stroke of luck in the draft lottery and got the number 1 pick which they used to bring Paolo Banchero on board.  They also replaced their coach, Steve Clifford, around this time with Jamal Moseley since Clifford was not interested in a rebuild.  

Last year, Magic fans had a little to cheer about as we watched those core 3 grow and improve each game. They were surrounded by talented players like Jonathan Issac, Cole Anthony, Mo Wagner,  Markelle Fultz, and Wendell Carter, Jr.  Though their record was only 34-48 and they still came in 13th in the Eastern Conference, anyone watching couldn't help but be excited about the possibilities ahead.  

The games we have gone to this year have been SO...MUCH...FUN!  

Even the players are enjoying this ride.  It's so nice to attend a game and have something to cheer about and the attendance has been trending upwards all year. I think they won every game we went to this season. 

I don't know what the outcome of this year will be - right now they are 42-28, 4th in the Eastern Conference, and knocking on the door of the Cleveland Cavaliers for 3rd.  But whatever happens, this has been a fun season and the future is looking bright.

Names

 I always considered naming my child to be a very significant responsibility.  After all, this is not only the name your "baby" will have, but this is a name your child will hold throughout school - while being addressed by teachers and peers - and then take into adulthood where they will be addressed in the workplace by co-workers, bosses, and others.

My husband and I did not quite see eye to eye on names at the time because he wanted names that would sound good for his son when he would one day became a big star quarterback for Notre Dame.  He was also big on alliteration so the names he would throw out - like Kit or Kellen  which would fit the alliteration bill with Koeck  - were instantly vetoed by me because, you know, what if he DIDN'T grow up to be a famous sports star and just had to live in "the real world".  Right?  

With the far out-of-the-box names suggested by my husband, it is a wonder we agreed on mainstream common names like Christopher, Jonathan, and Zachary. 

So.....................names..............................

I've noticed a couple trends lately that I am NOT a fan of.  Far be it for me to suggest that my opinion is right, but this is MY blog and I am going to express My opinion on My blog (which no one really reads anyway...haha)

TREND #1

What is this movement to give what have been traditional "boy" names to girls now.  I've noticed many people have begun to give their girls names like Noah, Tyler, and James.  And just recently, I've seen baby girls named Clarke, Wesley, Beckham, and Slate. James has become wildly popular as a girl's middle name ---- and I'm just not digging it. Also, as a teacher who is handed a roster (which doesn't list gender) weeks before the kids are back to school, I would probably go about planning for male students if I saw those names. 

TREND #2

"Trendy" or "trailblazing" names that seem to be for social media attention.  The following is a list of names I have seen on social media lately and I am not impressed with ANY of them.

- Banjo (boy)

- Marna (girl)

- Maple (girl)

- Graylee (girl)

- Kilmer (boy)

- Bronx (boy)

- Collins (girl)

- Prescott  (girl)

- Boyer (boy)

- Haven (girl)

- Suede (boy)

In my opinion....social media wanna-be influencers desperate for comments on their children's "unique" names. Parents fishing for social media validation and then the poor child will have to live with that name the rest on their life!

 

Halloween Horror Nights - Part Three

 Since it's February, I thought it was time to get the HHN posts done. 

The first two posts covered all the houses at the back of the park. 

At this point, we would make the long trek to the front of the park and from there, the order of houses changed depending on wait times But we would usually do either Yeti or 

YETI: CAMPGROUND KILLS

 I wasn't that excited about another Yeti house (Yeti: Terror of the Yukon in 2019) but I liked the story behind this one and I enjoyed the scenery; which was a 1950's campground in the Rocky Mountains overrun by terrifying yeti's who rip apart everything in their path. 

The facade is Ranger Station #32 of Shadow Creek State Park. Other featured walkthrough rooms are a cabin, a campsite, a bait and tackle shop, and a lakeside. 

Score: 7

Google

Google

Walkthrough credit: Attractions Magazine

DUELING DRAGONS: CHOOSE THY FATE

This house was a nod to the Dueling Dragons roller coaster which was open from 1999 to 2010.  The queue took you through a ruined castle destroyed by by rival dragon, the ice Blizzrock and the fiery Pyrock.

The house takes place right before the ride's storyline after Merlyn had been turned into the enchanted oak.  Blizzrock and Pyrock travel to Merlyn's castle through the Fairy Forest to find the spell book.  Here they discover that Merlyn put a spell on the book which turns them into dragons and they battle through the crumbling castle as guests walk through. 

This house had a fun feature as, at a certain point in the house, the path splits and you could choose your ending by selecting either fire or ice.  

Score: 7

Walkthrough credit: Attractions Magazine

                                Google

                                                       Google