Thank you, Thank you very much

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” W. T. Purkiser

Andy and I spent the past weekend in Sarasota, for Kristin (my roomate in college)'s wedding to her longtime boyrfriend, Eric. We had a rather uneventful flight down, and made it just in time for the rehearsal @ the Ca'DeZan Mansion at the Ringling Museum...Mansion website

It was right by the beach, and we spent the weekend in Sarasota on Lido Beach, by St. Armands Circle...City website...seriously.... I want to retire there. Here is the room from Kristin's suite where we all got ready the day of. Her dress was stunning! Once I get the professional pictures back, I will post some of those on here. They had a photo booth,  where we all used props, and took candid photos that the bride and groom got in a book, and we got copies as well. :) Link to the rest of the shutteryou photos :)

 The rehearsal dinner and ceremony was gorgeous, I made it successfully through my speech without embarrasing myself or everyone else, and shared a touching moment with the bride. All in all, the weekend was a great success! My mom and sister came to the ceremony as well, and it was so nice to have everyone together :) Here are some pics from my Iphone, of the garden, and from the rehearsal dinner/wedding ceremony/reception....

 We had a nice Sunday...Mom's birthday is Monday, so we had MeeMaw over and celebrated Thanksgiving Dinner and Mom's birthday....it was awesome :) I really would have liked at least one more day at home, but I'll take what I can get....I think Des is coming up soon.... and I'll be back home ASAP as soon as I can find an affordable flight....

 Our flight back was not so uneventful..... we got about an hour and a half into a three hour flight when the pilot comes over the intercom, and says bad news folks...we have a faulty oil gage, and we have to turn around and head back to Orlando....(45 minutes away) and switch planes. Needless to say, my already high flight anxiety skyrocketed...but we made it back on land in one piece....ugh....I'm still getting back on that plane though :) 

In other news, I got my fingerprint approval card back, which means I can apply to be a substitute teacher in the state of Maine...I had to get together 3 letters of recommendation, but I have background clearance, so I will be starting that within the next few weeks. I'm not sure what grades, I'm keeping it open...but I'm so super excited :)

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and Andrew's 29th birthday. We are spending the day first here at the restaurant, his family has decided to not open for business, but instead to open to feed the needy..all free, from donations from the community, and out of the Kennedy family's pocket. We are providing Thanksgiving dinner to senior citizens, all public servants in uniform (police, fire,  etc) and those that cannot afford to provide for themselves. The staff has stepped up and volunteered their time, and we are expecting a decent turnout...this will occur from 11 - 2 pm. Afterwards, we are all going to Andy's dad's sister's house (Aunt Sue) to do Andy's family's Thanksgiving..... He has a big family, some of which I have not yet met, so it should be interesting...he said holidays can get a little crazy....

And on a final note, now that the wedding's over, I can do something I've been wanting to do for a while...I'm cutting my hair off!! Only to my shoulders, of course, but my hair is so flat here, it will stay straight....and I'm due for a change :) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!!!!! I hope you all have a glorious holiday, I'm thankful for all of you that I'm sharing my life with :)

"Take pride in how far you have come, have faith in how far you can go."
- Author Unknown -







 

Home, Sweet Home

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”


As of November 1, we became residents of the Hayward-Ellis Property, AKA Loon Point Camp. 10 Whitlow Way, Dedham ME. Here is our front door...(Daria, you will notice the "Love to all that Enters Here" is finally coming to good use...) We have metal Loons in our front yard, and ironically, Conch Shells. We spent the first few days making it feel "homey" and getting organized.We cleaned the carpets, reorganized the furniture, established the uses for the rooms (Andy has his "Man Cave"...he may or may not have wanted to turn the place into a frat house with his beer memorabilia....) But his ManCave has a super sweet view of the lake...It still needs some TLC, and some paint, but its OURS. Our landlords gave us free reign to tear down wallpaper and paint, so I'm super excited about that... We've decided on white walls with dark brown accents. I'm sure that will change :) So, as of now, Andy's loving his hatchet, chopping wood, and making fires every night...

 

Here is my nook....

From the dock...you can see the light from our fireplace in the background :)

24 and doin fine..

MY FIRST SNOW!!!

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than (s)he seeks"
John Muir

 SO, being a Florida girl (one relocating from the Southernmost tip to the Northernmost tip, nonetheless...) I have been anxiously awaiting my first snow, and today I got it!!!!! We went to a Halloween party last night (complete with a bonfire, and a band..my kind of party) so we were out a bit late....I was fortunate enough to be able to sleep in this morning, and when I woke up, I saw a text on my Iphone..."I hope your enjoying your first snow!"

Snow?? I thought. No freakin way. It was raining by the bonfire last night, and Wilma Flinstone was wearing a sleveless mini dress like it was nothing. Still, I jumped over to the window like a little kid on Christmas morning... Sure enough though, I peeked out the window, and the trees were all covered in SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( I should clarify, it was more like they were sprinkled in snow. You could still see the green undeneath...)

The feeling of that moment was surreal!!!!!!!!!!!!I HAD NEVER SEEN SNOW BEFORE!! I felt like I was in a movie. I was all tingly, and super excited. I pulled on my Ugg-style boots, and my furry jacket, grabbed my phone, and out the door to touch this thing that I had only heard of. It was a light snow, flurries, like it was raining, only fluffier :) I snapped a photo of the fall leaves covered in snow, and what a great shot, two of natures wonderful displays combined, and I could enjoy the from my front porch :) The snow was crunchy, and stuck together, I could have made a few snowballs off the snow that was left on the car windshields. It was an amazingly beautiful thing to see. I even caught a few flakes on my jacket :)

The temp was around 35 all day, enough to be quite chilly, but I am enjoying the crispness here. Mainers are still running around in shorts...sheesh. They want nothing to do with 80 degree weather and lots of humidity, and I'm not going to lie, the cold sounds much more appealing to me now that I've experienced it. Its crisp, and everything seems so much more alive and clean, and BRIGHT.. Everything up here is just sooo beautiful, and crisp and clean. Its hard to capture that in pictures.

Our landlord gave us the GO on our little Log Cabin today, so we move in tomorrow to the Camp as they call it up here, or as this FL girl refers to it, a lake house. Looking forward to some privacy and serenity. AND SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!