Friday, July 27, 2012

What a difference a year makes...

It was one year ago yesterday that we moved to Palm Coast, FL. Here's what's happened in one year:

  • I interviewed for a job as a school counselor, one year ago today.
  • Got the job and have been happily employed for the past year. Also, haven't had to look for a job due to budget cuts. This is very thrilling for me!
  • Andrew was also happily employed and will return as THE Physics/AP Physics teacher in a few weeks.
  • We bought our second house and got an incredible deal in this big beauty. AND - we have a fence!  What a luxury for a family with dogs.
  • We sold our first house in Lynchburg and close on it next Tuesday. Hooray!!
  • We found a wonderful church and really feel like we can love it, get involved and stand behind it.
  • We've made some really wonderful friends here.
  • We spent 8 months (what we thought would be two...) living with my parents and formed a wonderful bond with them. The time we spent there was precious.
  • Christy & Brandon moved to Orlando in April!
  • We've been to the beach more times than I can count, and have loved every single trip!
  • We are Disney World annual pass holders. SOOOO fun!
  • We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary.
  • I have personally been challenged in many ways throughout the year, and have grown and been shaped in to a better person as a result.
All in all, we feel incredibly, overwhelmingly blessed. This move to Florida has been unreal - we still find ourselves saying "We LIVE here!" one a weekly basis. 

Can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Monday, June 25, 2012

Spoooooooooky Summer

Fact: Before we moved in to our house, our next door neighbor said that the man who originally purchased/built the home passed away.  Whether he died in the house itself, or at a medical facility remains to be known. 

Fact: When we moved in, Samson spent a considerable amount of time sitting in the closet of the office, facing the wall and wagging his tail.  Creepy, right? We sort of got used to the weirdness of it and usually keep the door to that room shut, just because it freaks us out a little.

Fact: Last night, I was cleaning the kitchen and living room, disinfecting anything Andrew (who has strep) might have touched or looked at. I was bouncing around between a few rooms and came back into the living room and stopped in my tracks. There, in the middle of the floor, was a pile of Andrew's clothes - which included a t-shirt, and two mismatched socks.  Now, this isn't entirely strange, and if you have dogs you'll understand.  Every so often, Maggie would drag out a piece of dirty clothes and bring it in to show us, and then roll around on it like a maniac. This, we have been told, is her way of getting our scent on to her.  Weird, but not creepy-weird.  The strange thing is, I had walked through that room several times and never once saw any clothes on the floor - let alone right in the middle of the floor!  It gets stranger...so I went into the laundry room to throw a load of clothes in (the door to the laundry room was shut) and there on the floor were the other two partners of the mismatched socks that were on my living room floor!!!  

Fact:  Last night I was at the kitchen table and Maggie was drinking from her water bowl, which is right next to the table.  All of a sudden, her favorite little squeaky ball shot across the kitchen floor.  I jumped to my feet.  Now...Maggie may have stepped on it or Sammy could have kicked it...but he was laying in the dining room and was nowhere around.

Fact: While I was in the shower this morning, the ceramic, sealed/cemented-to-the-wall-towel holder  fell to the floor and broke.  Only one side - the other side is still sealed/cemented to the wall.

Fact:  My laundry room door just slammed shut. No windows are open, neither is the garage.

As I was relaying all of this to Andrew, he got completely freaked out and his response was this: "If there is a ghost in the house, the good news is, he can't do anything to you."  I'm not entirely comfortable with discussing this as a real option.  If there is a ghost in the house - well, there are a whole lot of other implications that go along with it! 

I'm still not entirely sure where I stand on supernatural things like this, but it's beginning to get a little creepy...

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Palm Coast

It has been entirely too long since I've written anything. I'm not really sure what to write but I'd like to get back into the habit so....here goes....

I like lists. Let's start with that. 

Things I love about living in Palm Coast, FL:

1. Well, we got a house. It is an amazing house. I love this house. It's far too big for us right now, but maybe some day we'll fill it up. It was an absolute steal and we got it for farrrr less than it's worth. And, it was owned by a bank so we didn't have to feel horrible about taking anyone's house...instead, we stuck it to the man!
2. I love the school where I work.  It's great. The people there are wonderful and it's a very supportive environment where I can get my feet wet and grow as a counselor.  Plus the kids are such a trip. Never a dull moment!
3. We are peas in a pod with my parents. The time we got to spend living with them was absolutely precious. Who knew Andrew and my dad would become buddies?
4. The vicinity to the ocean is suh-weet. We go there some times just because we can and the stress absolutely melts away....
5. The weather. Today it stormed, hard, for about 15 minutes. Then it went back to sunshine and breezes.
6. We've met some really wonderful people here. It's hard making friends in a new place but so far, we've got a few that are fantastic.
7. We are Disney World annual pass holders. My 8 year old self loves me for that. So does my 30 year old self.

More to come as I find more interesting things to write about....