Happy early Valentine's Day!

Eric and I seem to have an Army mandated tradition, we are never together on Valentine's Day. Out of the 9 we've shared, only 2 have been in person. He was either deployed, TDY at a school, or for the past couple years he's been in the swamps with the Ranger students.

This year we were excited that he had the day off...until 4 days ago, and now he will be at work all day. So, we cashed in a $25 gift certificate to a local steak house and had an early dinner on Friday to celebrate. And...he loves his gift, can't you tell?Also, it snowed here in Florida! Can you believe it? It started as sleet in the early afternoon, then we had huge flakes for about an hour...then it stopped and all melted away before 6pm. It was funny driving around because people were standing on their porches in flip flops (or bare foot) and tank tops holding a video camera...the last time it snowed here was over 20 years ago. I did find out Koa is NOT a fan of snow, as shown in the picture below. He ran outside, then ran even faster back through the doggy door. But, if you look closely, you can see the snowflake on his back :o)
Happy Valentine's Day everyone, and I'll probably do another post after my appointment with the Perinatalogist on Tuesday...because bedrest is really boring and I don't have much else to talk about.

Someone missed the memo

I live in F L O R I D A, which means that 5 days without the temperature getting above 49, and warmest low being 22 is just unacceptable.

I declared last May that cold weather was officially dead to me. So, I'm not sure if the mail room is to blame, or you fax machines are on the fritz...do I need to send the message by pigeon?

This is why I'm so upset, our 5 day forecast:
Wed 45/16
Thurs 49/22
Fri 38/14
Sat 41/9
Sun 47/18

Yeah, did that catch that 9 degree low on Saturday?? Do you know how hard it is for a pregnant woman to find a real winter coat in Florida?? Just about impossible!

But, I have to be grateful that I still have power, and my house is a nice toasty 72 (I had to turn the heat up yesterday b/c Koa's paws were ice cold).

For all my friends that live further north, you have my sympathy...but I really want to move back to Hawaii today. I think I'll play some Bruddah Iz & look through my pictures of those glorious 3 years on the island.

Cold weather is officially Dead To Me!

Someone obviously missed the memo, that it's May!

(Rewind back to May 4th)
Eric and I had just gotten back from dinner after my Pinning Ceremony and had a total of 3.5 hrs to pack and sleep before we left for the airport on our last minute trip to Seattle. I contemplated what to pack...I didn't have many options since we had just left the resort in Destin, and too many of my clothes were still dirty, but we were staying @ his sister's house so I knew I would have access to a washer & dryer. I did the only logical thing...tried to remember how cold it was when I lived there almost 7 yrs ago :o)

I packed a really cute knitted brown sweater & white hoodie because lets face it, cute should rule over functional any day! I also packed 2 long sleeved shirts with matching (and not really functional) sleeveless vests/hoodies. Unfortunately, this last semester of school has not only expanded my knowledge, but also my waistline leaving only one pair of jeans that I can squeeze into. Trying to stay optimistic I also packed a pair of super cute capris & 2 pairs of flip flops my sisters gave me for graduation. (If you don't have a family member that works @ a Croc's outlet you are seriously missing out, sorry!!)

To say the least, I froze in Seattle. Half the time I stole Eric's sweater to wear over top of mine, and the other 95% of the time was spent shivering. But, I was able to find a pair of jeans @ Mariposa that were on sale, functional, and fashionable :o)

(May 13)
I had one day to get my Nursing stuff taken care of and get lots of odds & ends done before I left for Missouri the next day. I cherished the warm sun, even the humidity as me, V, & her daughter Jayden ran our errands in shorts, t-shirts, & flip flops...it was a glorious day!!!

(May 14)
I talked with my brother about the weather, and he said it might get a little chilly, but it was still nice. So, again I packed some capris, but was better prepared...or I thought.

(May 15)
The temp drops & Michelle, her sister Kacey & I head out for sweaters to match our dresses for Mike's graduation because we see the weather has once again taken a turn for the worse. Since we are in Missouri we decide to get in character...Michelle wears her sweats, and I leave on my PJs (scrub pants & a white t-shirt) and we make our way to Target & Wal-Mart. I think the sleep deprivation was finally starting to take a toll because I found a black wrap that I liked and decided to wear it while I continued to shop...it matched the green scrub pants beautifully! I even inspired Michelle to get involved and as I walked out of the dressing room she was strutting this fabulous number:
(May 16)
We are walking towards the campus for my brother's graduation, and as the wind blows I couldn't help yell out, "it's like God doesn't love us!" This initiated some interesting looks from the throngs of people standing around me, but seriously...it's May!!!

(fast forward...May 19)
I'm dreadfully ill from the drastic warm to cold shift and am coughing up my right lung. But, in reality you only need one lung to live, so I should be grateful.

In conclusion, Cold weather = Hell! Yep, I said it. I am not convinced that the fire & brimstone that has been preached for so many years is accurate. I would die for a little El Nino right now!

It's beginning to Feel a lot like MY kind of Christmas

Eric and I left the foggy mid-60s of Northwest Florida this morning at 6am...and I am still recovering. We hit the road after a nice breakfast at the best restaurant around, Waffle House!!

We are now checked-in, and have already purchased our groceries for the week, to include Christmas dinner. Our Wal-Mart pizza is in the oven & we busted open the Mallomars as an appetizer....mmmmmm...

Did I mention how much I love this weather!!! It is going to sit in the high-70s to 80s all week, except one day....utter bliss. My fellow Floridians can second that motion I'm sure. There is nothing like sweating in a crowd with screaming children during this festive season!! Honestly though, I am so excited!!

We have been saving our money for quite some time to do some of the things we have always wanted. Monday night we will get to go to Medieval Times, then hit some days at Disney early in the week...then Christmas Eve we got tickets to see La Nouba (Cirque du Soleil), and I am so excited.

I won't have pix til we get back b/c we forgot the cable to load them on the computer. But until then, have a very Merry Christmas...and I will be checking out your blogs throughout the week!!

Global Warming my....um....foot!

If there is one thing I can't stand....it is being cold. I guess winter has finally decided to set in this week, and I am super bummed!



I know most of you are thinking...don't you live in FL?? Well, yes and no. I live in the northern part of FL, and the highest elevation point in the state (a couple hundred feet). But, because I am a very short distance to our neighbor in the north...I like to think of this area as Southern Alabama. Would anyone even believe that it drops into the teens during the months of January & February!?!? Sad, but true.



My husband and I have sort of an agreement. I won't turn turn the air above 75 in the summer (even though I cheat while he is gone & turn it up to 78), and he won't turn it below 72 in the winter. You might think this is backwards, but I freeze all year round. I have always had this problem, and it seems like I can't get warm the past few days. My husband sits around in his underwear while I am in sweats (with a layer underneath), thick socks, slippers, all the while cuddled underneath a blanket with the thermostat @ 72 degrees.



My only comfort as I walk outside to scrap the ice off my windshield is passing by the Elaeagnus bushes by my front door. This is a great shrub that blooms in the winter (I know, its weird), and the smell reminds me of the tuberose, pikake & plumerias in HI.

Here are some pix of my one bright light in the cold darkness that is winter.

I tell Eric constantly...'if you love me, we will move back to Hawaii.'

Here's wishing!!!

Threatdown: Cold Weather!!!

There is only thing destroying America this week...and for the next 5-6 months...cold weather. I really really really hate cold weather. Yea, the clothes are cute, but I can never seem to keep warm.

I LOVED my 3 years in Hawaii. The coldest temperature I ever had to experience was 64 degrees...what a glorious time it was. The summer temperatures never got above 98, and we always had the trade winds. Can I please move back?!?!?!?

My husband convinced me that we were moving to FL, where is was warm, when in reality we are really in southern Alabama! I live a whopping 28 miles south of the border.

This rant is brought to you by the first freeze of the season last night. It never got above 60 yesterday, so I busted out my space heater (b/c I refuse to turn my heater on before November, b/c I am cheap) and cuddled up with my Koa and prepared for the worst.



He didn't want to get out of bed this morning....and I can't blame him. By the time I woke up, the temperature in my house was down to 65 degrees. Ok, I know this probably doesn't seem bad at all for most of you...but I would keep my thermostat at 80 degrees all year round if I had my way...but I have to make a compromise for my Sexy Beast.

Eric called me right before he was getting ready to come home from work this morning @ 0500, and said that the temperature out at the Ranger camp had dropped to 29 degrees last night...but at least he got to sit in the Humvee last night instead of a sleeping bag on the ground, he really lucked out!

So...
Winter, winter, go away
Don't come back another day!
I refuse to go outside to play
I just want a warm, sunny day!