+Returning/ Catching Up

Howdy Y’all,

It’s been roughly seven months since I posted my last blog. So before I begin blogging again on a regular basis, I will quickly catch you up on my life.

Three months ago (Give or take a week) I moved to FLORIDA. As a girl who lived in GEORGIA for 12 years, I expected Florida to be similar to Georgia. Boy, was I mistaken! Southern Hospitality ENDS the moment you cross the Florida/Georgia line. Tim and I have met NO one outside of work. Which is crazy because Tim is one of the most outgoing people I know. I figured we’d have no problem meeting people. We live in a nice apartment complex but you would think we lived on a deserted island. No one goes outside unless it’s to hop in their vehicles to go somewhere or to take their dogs out. No one speaks to you, let alone make eye contact with you.

Where is the SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY down here? I’ve been asking this damn question since the first week we moved down here and have yet to find an answer.

Florida lacks the home welcoming/ family loving feeling you would find in Georgia. And the weather is just as unfulfilling.

 I can’t tell you how wishy washy the weather is down here. Yesterday was 70 something degrees out and today it was FREEZING! 45 degrees out! You never know if you should bundle up like you live in the north or if you should throw on your bathing suit and hit the pool.

I can’t stand this weather!

On another note, two months ago, Tim and I welcomed our second furchild into our home. Like I mentioned earlier, no one comes outside. Even those with dog’s refuse to go to the dog park. So for an entire month, Sadie Mae had no interactions with other dogs. It started to take a toll on her so after Tim gave me permission to welcome another furchild into our home, I jumped at the opportunity.

Everyone meet River Layne. She is absolutely precious! In a few words, she’s the sweetest, whiniest, needy puppy who is beyond obsessed with her older sister. It baffles Tim and I how much she loves Sadie Mae but it can be heartwarming!

Did I mention she’s Sadie Mae’s mini-me? You don’t understand how much I love that about her! They are so much alike, it’s scary! It drives Tim insane 85% of the time but I can’t help but adore the similarities, I’m obsessed with them!

And lastly, I just applied for Graduate School. I would like to pursue a career in Teaching and Learning-Administration. I’d like to eventually work in a public school as an administrator. So fingers crossed, I get accepted into Liberty University and can begin and complete my Master’s Degree.

So now that’s we’re caught up on my life, let’s begin with my regular blogs. My blogs may vary from opinions, stories, Dinner Recipes (I’ve started cooking since I moved to Florida and I hate to toot my own horn, but I’m quite the chef), and other odd and random posts.

A Local’s Favorite

When it comes to feeding myself, I’m an extremely picky eater. I could name off foods that I do eat because that would be quicker than naming off the foods that I stay away from.

Since I can remember, I’ve never been a person to enjoy meals that have absolutely anything to do with animals that spend the majority of their lifespan in water. 

I don’t eat fish, oysters, sushi, clams, lobster, crab, or any other creature that spent his/her life in the river, lake, or ocean before they became someone’s next meal.

And I stick firmly to my strict “No Water Animal” diet. 

Or at least I did.

Yesterday while visiting the Historic District of St. Augustine, my boyfriend and I had the opportunity to try one of the local’s favorite appetizers. 

Now I was hesitant as I hate wasting money on food that I won’t end up eating in the end and I also have my strict “No water animal” diet, but trying the appetizer won out in the end.

Timothy and I ordered Gator Tails as our first course. 

That’s right! I said Gator Tails! 

Now Timothy and Sadie ended up eating most of them but I did have one or two pieces. 

In my opinion, gator tails aren’t the world’s greatest meal but it wasn’t bad considering gators spend a lot of their time in water and we know how I feel about animals living in water being a meal.  

If you haven’t had the chance to try gator tails, they are tender. Very tender. Good luck tearing them apart with your teeth. It can be quite a struggle. 

They also taste much like chicken so if you’re a fan of chicken, you may have found the next best choice if chicken isn’t available.

As for me, chicken is not my top meat choice. I prefer beef so gator tails wouldn’t be my next best choice.

But it could be your next best choice or even your next favorite appetizer. 

All I’m saying is if you’re ever in Florida and you’d like to try something new and something you’re more likely to remember, give gator tails a try. You won’t be disappointed. 

(If you can force yourself to try gator tails in Florida, encourage yourself to try a new cuisine in each state that your visit. If you’re ever in Georgia, try our peach pie! I hear it’s delicious!)

Just a heads up, please brush your teeth afterwards. Gator tails leave you with the worst breathe known to mankind. 

I would know because every time my boyfriend burped last night, it smelt almost identical to Sadie Mae’s bottom bubbles. Trust me, they’re the most horrendous smell your nostrils would ever endure. 

And everyone knows the saying “If there’s no picture, it didn’t happen” so here’s our yummy appetizer from last night. 

Bon Appetite! 

  

X Does Not Mark The Spot

Ladies and Gents, I’ve come to a conclusion about Flordia.

While I was taking a walk earlier with Timothy and Sadie Mae, I realized that Florida could never be my forever home and here’s why.

It is sunny with a high of 88 degrees today and before we even got two minutes into our walk, Sadie was already dying.

Now we only took a 10 minute walk as we were barely surviving the heat ourselves and during these ten short minutes, Sadie tried to lay down in every shaded area we passed.

Poor baby wasn’t even wagging her tail as we made our way through the neighborhood. If you know Sadie at all, her tail is always held up high while she prances around without a care in the world.

But in this Florida heat, that was not the case.

So I suppose Florida will never be a place I call home because if Sadie can’t survive comfortably then neither can I.

It literally blows my mind that people have dogs down here. Unless they’re inside dogs, it’s way too hot for them. I couldn’t imagine Sadie Mae spending more than a few minutes at a time outside in this heat.

She wouldn’t survive. She loves her air conditioning way too much. And I say that with all the seriousness I can muster up.

So X does not mark the spot here in Florida for my future home.

Fortunately though, this state is quite the vacation spot so even if I never live here, I sure will be visiting as much as possible.

On to Round Numero Dos

I feel as if my life likes to repeat itself over and over and over again until I learn something valuable from the lessons I’m taught through various trials in life. 

Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of learning things over again. Especially if they hurt the first time around but hey, life has its own agenda and I’m simply along for the ride.  

Almost two years ago, I was involved in a long distance relationship. The guy lived in Florida and I lived in Georgia. We were eight hours apart.

After our break up, I promised I would NEVER do a long distance relationship of any kind EVER again! 

Especially not in Florida!

But the Big Man Upstairs has other plans for my life because as of right now, I’m doing the one thing I told myself I wouldn’t do again.

The guy that I’ve been dating now for seven months was offered an a summer internship with Georgia Pacific. The internship started today. 

Where you may ask? 

Most definitely not in the good ole state of Georgia. And not in the states above or to our left. 

Nope, his internship is nowhere other than FLORIDA. 

So as of Sunday afternoon, our long distance relationship began around 1:15 pm when he began his trip to that awful state that I won’t name. 

I’m not sure if God is playing a mean joke on me or if he thinks I need to learn something from this situation, but I’m not too pleased.

So I’m thinking it’s the latter as God doesn’t do anything that would purposely cause you harm without reason.

So here are a couple lessons I’ve learned so far:

During my first relationship, I freaked out the entire time leading up to my ex moving. This time I stayed emotionally detached until the VERY last minute. 

As much as I saved myself from all the worrying and heartache this time around, it kind of hit me out of nowhere and it felt just as bad as the first time. 

I suppose my first lesson that I’ve learned is that you have to find the medium between being emotionally detached and being overly attached emotionally. 

For either way, it doesn’t make the situation any easier. You can fret about it or ignore it, but you’ll have to face it sooner or later. 

My second lesson that I’ve learned so far is that you have to have a strong connection with individuals other than your boyfriend/girlfriend.

Luckily for me, I made sure this time around that we made time for not only ourselves but for our friends as well. 

Tim would have his Guys Night Out and I’d have my Ladies Night Out. That way we wouldn’t ostracize ourselves from our friends. 

A lot of couples do that and then they feel as if they have no one to turn to if something happens. 

I’ll admit that I did that the first time around and I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

So far I’ve learned from my past mistakes and from my new mistakes. 

So far so good! I suppose since I’ve already been there and done that during around Numero Uno, Round Numero Dos should be a breeze.