Home sweet home.

[kimana517]

+ Hola, amigos! I have returned to Florida, for which my skin, sinuses and no-longer-flat hair are very thankful. I also brought 3 12-packs of Cheerwine with me. Happiness.

The rest of our trip was great. Friday we went to lunch with the groom and some of his friends and family, then took a nap at the hotel and went to the rehearsal and dinner. My stomach started acting up again after that, so when Isaac went to hang out with the boys, I went back to the hotel room and watched a few episodes of What Not To Wear. Man, I wish we had cable. Saturday morning we went to breakfast with friends and then to the wedding around noon. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding - one of the most God-honoring, personal ceremonies I've ever been to. The reception was a blast - we danced a lot. Badly. I officially approved of the bride once she lip-synched every word of "Ice, Ice Baby" while we were all dancing goofily to it. LOL. She was a really good dancer. We ended up having 9 people there from our years at WOLBI, so it was a little mini-reunion. Interestingly, the people we hung out with most and got along with best were a couple we were never remotely close to at the B.I. I wonder if they've changed, or if we have? It was fun to hang out with married people as silly as we are. That seems to be a rarity.

Saturday night we met up with craneke and her husband! We met at this total greasy spoon hole-in-the-wall place that rocked. It was so much fun talking with them. Some of our WOL friends joined us too, and when one of them (Beth) found out where Kelly is from, she asked if she knew someone else who lives there. We were all thinking, "Oh, of course she doesn't know them. That's a big city." But stuff always happens to this friend - she has crazy stories - so would you believe that Kelly knew not one of Beth's friends, but both? So random! It was such a blast spending more time with Kelly. I swear I'm going to TN to visit one of these days!

Before we left yesterday we had breakfast at Bojangle's, which is the first time I've ever eaten there. It was ehh. Then we had a very long drive back, because there was lots of traffic in Georgia. I drove the first shift, which was in the mountains. That was fun. I was able to sleep a bit while Isaac drove and that helped the time pass. Mostly I watched Buffy on my laptop. (When I bought my computer I didn't know I was getting an upgraded battery, but I'm so glad I did!) We finally got home at around 8pm, which was fine for Isaac and me, but the friend we drove with had to drive back to WOL FL - another 3 hours.

+ My new phone arrived today! The seller definitely exaggerated about the cosmetic condition (he said 8.5/10, but it's more like 5 or 6/10. It has lots of scratches.), but it seems to be functioning 100% fine. I really like it so far; the pictures it takes are beautiful! The previous owner was from the UK (this phone isn't actually available in the US) and had horrendous taste in music. I know, because he or she forgot to clean off the included memory card. LOL.

+ I realized this morning that I have no plans at all until Europe. How strange! There are no trips to anticipate, no friends coming to visit (that I know of. Feel free to change this, anyone!), nothing. It's a very odd feeling. And we really need to get our butts in gear and finalize an itinerary for Europe, too. I think we will be cutting it down to no more than 3 weeks, and, odd as it may seem, I think England is going to be the first country to get the boot. As much as I want to go there, I want to go to France, Italy and Greece far more.

+ I was really reminded on our trip why I don't miss winter in the north. Everything was BROWN. Brown, brown, brown, everywhere you look, except the sky, which was gray until the day we left. I miss color when I'm up not here. I think people like snow so much because it allows them to be in denial about the brown. I mean, if a place with mountains and lakes is just brown and gray in winter, what hope is there for anywhere else? And then when snow is anywhere near the road, it turns brown too. I like having flowers in December (we had a yellow rose bloom last week!), bright blue skies, and some green leaves on trees. And that's the last I'll say on the subject, because you cold weather-lovers are probably quite tired of hearing me proclaim my love for FL.  ;o)

+ Tax season has begun, so I am husbandless for 10 hours each day. Sad. Well, hopefully that should make me better at staying caught up on my friends page!

Comments

[pansyprincess.livejournal.com]

Washington is green even in winter! Another reason I love it...but Washington's just a weird state. ;)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

After I wrote that I thought, "I wonder about Washington and Oregon?" So yay for always being green and pretty! Although you guys rarely see blue skies, which would annoy me. For you, I suppose, that's great though. =o)

[pansyprincess.livejournal.com]

We actually see more blue sky than one would think--it was sunny yesterday. And of course we get June through October where there are only a few days of rain total. So yeah, for that reason and the fact that I love rain, winters here are very bearable for me. ;)

[borboletalanna.livejournal.com]

Yes! Come to TN! I will try to keep my eye on FL flights, too... although I'm a little over-traveled right now (sad to say since I love traveling).

I'm glad you're back. That always makes me think of the A&E Pride and Prejudice. "I'm glad you're back, Lizzy. I'm glad you're back, Jane."

Sorry about being Isaac-less... I will try to do something to entertain you.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

You know, I think I will. Hehe.

I like reminding people of P&P. =o)

Please do! You can be very entertaining. I am SO excited at the prospect of meeting you and your sister!!

[forget-me-not-8.livejournal.com]

Hm, I was wondering why I had never seen a phone before like that in my life. :P It's really cool, and it's always fun to have a unique phone. :)

::sigh:: Europe.
Must. Not. Envy.

;)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

I agree. My other phone was mostly in the UK too, although I think it was released here for a short time. I saw it on an episode of Doctor Who. =o)

Aw. Maybe you guys could go for your one-year anniversary?

[gothelittle.livejournal.com]

I'm actually a bit unusual in that color saturation three seasons out of the year tires my brain out and I rather welcome a few months of brown, gray, and white. It relaxes my brain and helps me see things that are hidden in the bright spring/summer/fall foliage. I love seeing the intricate weave of the bare tree branches and all the fine details that you sometimes need monochrome to really notice. Even if it's a really snowy winter (which this one is shaping up to be) I appreciate having a couple weeks of dead gray/brown before spring really gets into gear.

Then again, as I said, I know I'm weird! :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

That is strange... but I'm glad for you that you found a place that doesn't tire your eyes out for 4 seasons. =o)

[dramaticsuzy.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeeah France! I can't wait to see you!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Same here! =oD

Tax Season

[bunktime.livejournal.com]

I know all about 10 hour days during tax season. I'm not sure my fiance knows what he's actually getting into.

Re: Tax Season

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Hehe. Are you a bookkeeper, accountant, CPA? Isaac is a tax accountant. He probably won't be going for his CPA because his end goal is to be a Bible teacher, but it is sure nice to have a good job until he reaches that low-paying goal! =o)

Re: Tax Season

[bunktime.livejournal.com]

I am a tax accountant as well, going to school for my "5th" year so I can get my CPA license. I'm not sure I'll actually get my CPA, because my goal is to be a stay-at-home Mom, but so far, that's not what the Lord has in store for me.

Re: Tax Season

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. Yeah, if FL didn't have so much extra to get your CPA, I'm sure Isaac would go for it. His boss would likely give him a raise if he did. But you have to have your Master's degree, right? Or at least lots of extra credits? And he doesn't want to take that many more accounting credits. It's too bad you can't get credit for time worked, though. His boss may be the CPA, but Isaac does absolutely everything he does. He's just missing the 3 letters.

[chestnutcurls.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a great trip! Time with old friends is always fun.

Sorry about tax season! :|

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Definitely. =o)

Eh, such is life. I'm almost used to it by now; this is the 4th one we've had to endure.

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

Come to VT right now. We have lots of white.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Then I think I'd rather stay here, where the skies are blue and the grass is green, and flowers are blooming. =o)

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

I don't blame you. If only VT could be without the cold. I love it here and love my mountains but the cold 6 months out of the year gets old.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's what I don't miss about WI. If I could have a summer home in WI, I'd be all over that, but unless I am 100% sure God wants me that far north, I will not ever, ever live up there again. I knew I was a Florida girl well before I got the chance to prove it. =o)

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

I need to live in Costa Rica or something. Mountains, water and sun!

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

That would be perfect! Or you could move to CA. I don't know how close the mountains are to the beach, but I know they have both. Of course, they also have the highest cost of living in the entire country, so I'm not sure it's worth it. Heh.

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

I guess I'll say here. There's no earth quakes, no tsunamis, no wild fires, no tornadoes, no hurricanes. Sure, we freeze our arses off, but it's still close to my family. :)

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

You guys don't get earthquakes? I thought Plattsburgh, NY was on a fault line? Is it far enough away that you don't feel it when they have a quake? They had one when I was at WOL NY and we felt it all the way down in Schroon Lake.

I miss tornadoes. I will say that's one thing I liked about IL. Not the destruction, obviously, but those are some freaking sweet storms. Hurricanes are so BORING. I know that when they're actually there, like if you live in Miami, they're crazy, but even the one that went right over us when we lived in the gulf was just days and days of wind and rain, which knocked the power out. Not having light inside and being unable to go outside was really boring. =oÞ

[erikaerin.livejournal.com]

I have heard people around here say that they felt a shake every now and then, but it was barely noticeable. We've never felt anything. Maybe Lake Champlain takes the brunt of it and we don't get anything. I've lived here over 10 years now and never felt a rumble. ever.

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

I'm not a big fan of Bojangles either. :/

I would never boot England, but then again, the main country I want to see is Great Britain. There are other countries, too, of course, but those are the main ones.

Yeah, I hate the brown, too. I like snow because it makes everything beautiful. Last year was quite ugly.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was not so great.

I mostly wanted to go to England to check it off my list. There wasn't really anything I was dying to do/see, except shop at H&M. Hehe. Perhaps we'll go back one day.

This year you have lots of snow though, right? Yay!

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

Don't they have H&M in other parts of Europe?

Yes, and we're supposed to get another 6-8 inches this weekend.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

I think so, and they have it in the States now too. (Just nowhere near me.) But still. It would've been fun to go to one there. =o)

Dang! I know my in-laws were iced in a few days ago. I do miss snow days. Hehe.

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

We have two that are pretty close to me. That should be even more motivation for you to come up here...

Poor Jill. She doesn't get snow days.

[kimana83.livejournal.com]

When you're homeschooled you don't need snow days, 'cause you pretty much get one every day. I mean, when you're in school only a few hours compared to 7 hours and then having homework? Yeah. Homeschooling rocks.

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

It's not even a few hours for Jill yet. So yeah, it's definitely nice. You also don't have to sit and look at the sun during spring and summer wishing you could go outside.