Florida Cold Snaps

“In India, "cold weather" is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy.” - Mark Twain.

So this might be an exaggeration for Florida but maybe a little like this in comparison to some weather being felt in other parts of the world right now. Anyway we do get tiny 'cold' snaps to remind us what it means to chatter our teeth and reach for our coats after you wake up to 25-degree temperatures in the morning.

Wondrous Whales

Ok, i'm still giddy about having seen this pod of whales. It was such an awe-inspiring experience.

I did learn a little more about them, this particular pod was the North Atlantic Right Whale, and there are fewer than 100 in Florida waters. And on top of that they are spread over a large area so to have caught a glimpse was even more special.

And it's so crazy that I just happened to forget my lunch yesterday, so I happened to take Aidan to my house to grab it, and then of course got to see these beautiful creatures!

roller-coaster

monday:
I started a diet. Up to 120. Ugh.

I was informed that my transmission is on "borrowed time."

I hate cars.

I want chocolate.

I found out I get to keep being "Nana" for awhile as Evan & Aidan aren't moving to Lousiana in March anymore!

I heart these kind of surprises.

I learned I do have a little will-power deep within myself.

wednesday:
I saw a pod of whales across the street from my house!

Watching whales makes me feel giddy!

My father-in-law turns 50 today!

My little Ben & Emma are moving to Singapore next month!

It's been confirmed: my transmission is officially shot, unless I want to drive my car between 0 & 30 mph forever. Tempting but no...

Anyone want to buy an '03 Oldsmobile Alero?? Hee hee.

No chocolate for three whole days. Wow.

Life's so sweet in the passenger seat...

Some of the sweetest words to hear: "Honey, I want to go on a date with you tonight." Loving the pleasant surprise of associating new flavors with an old familiar recipe, like trying sicilian quesadillas. An after dinner treat at Starbucks followed with tasty caramel apple flavored kisses. Awakening to the smell of smoky bacon on a lazy friday morning. Fingers wrapped around the just-right-temperature-for-sipping mug of chamomile tea. French vanilla protein shake with the aftertaste of Lucky Charms milk. Reuniting with an old album in your collection, the songs feeling comfy like that pair of jeans that fit just right. Stepping outside expecting to feel chilled, and instead feeling the warmth of the sun wrapping around you like a blanket. Valuing these moments.

1.20.09

yesterday was a historically significant day for our country but for us it will be remembered as just a normal day-tho a particularly chilly one that found us enjoying simple things like take-out from panda express, book browsing at our favorite local book store, dancing to the twist and shout in our living room, and falling alseep to the strange warmth found between slippery satin sheets we found buried in our closet=)

uh oh

you can see what is about to happen...sissie was trying to stop him, but he was too quick=)

i stripped him down to his diaper and wrapped him in my sweater for the walk home=)

all better...=)


we did have a little mishap when aidan decided to sit down in the water in his clothes=) so we had to go home real quick and wrap him in one of zane's tee shirts and his winter coat, and then headed back for more beach time.

treasure hunting

we got the privilege of having workers after special meeting for the night so when we woke up to a beautiful monday morning, a walk to the beach was a priority. we found all kinds of treasures like this violet starfish=)

making memories

z & i's sweet bed

Kyle showing off his tinfoil contraption to hold caramel for his sliced apples at special meeting=)

We had a few people over from 'down south' who were coming 'way up north' for Jacksonville special meetings this past weekend, as our house is sort of a halfway point. It was really special to get some time with Cira, Leala and her mom Lori, Austin and Kyle in our home. Lori and Leala taught us all how to play bonanza rummy poker, and they helped us make some progress on a particularly difficult Thomas Kincaid puzzle that has taken semi-permanent residence in our living room for the past couple months.... hee hee. We made homemade pizzas -one BBQ chicken with bacon, cilantro, black olive and sesame seeds, and one pepperoni=) We had to get creative with the sleeping situation so Z & I took a couch and Kyle took our other couch so was fun to camp out in our living room! Was a cozy wonderful time.

preparations

such a beautiful sky

i love to kiss my cook!maybe if i pose with a cute little apron on i'll start to resemble 'suzy home-maker' hee hee

zane made the best homemade guacamole, the bowl was scraped clean=)
loving the colors

this is us anxiously awaiting our guests for the special meeting get together we hosted this past weekend! it's been so long since we've had company so we were pretty excited.

something new

I've always been too imtimidated to add shelves to our walls, but finally tried it the other night... and this is what we came up with. I think i like it! This posting is mostly to show you Mom and Ashlee too...! So that you can see your lovely art collection currently finding a home in a rocking chair in our sun room. Loving it!