Thanksgiving in Florida

This being my first Thanksgiving ever away from my immediate family, I am thankful to Grandma and Grandpa Welling for inviting me to spend the day with them. I spent the hour drive to their place remembering all the Thanksgivings spent in Arizona, of baking SOOOOO many pies the night before, making the infamous Green Bean Casserole, and wondering if there was going to be anything that was forgotten, once the meal was over.
My Uncle Mark had flown out from Kansas City to spend Thanksgiving in the wonderful sunshine of Florida. It was actually a chilly 60 something degrees here, but Mark was basking in the warmth compared to where he had come from. Lunch was fabulous as to be expected, and then we went for a ride on the boat to enjoy the afternoon. No alligators were spotted, because, as I mentioned, it was chilly that day.
I left there and drove back to Orlando to have dinner with some friends that I have made. I was told dinner was going to be served at five, so I busted my butt to make it there on time, and lo and behold, they hadn't even started the turkey yet. Mind you, they were going to deep fry it, which doesn't take nearly as long as baking, but I was fully expecting to walk into the table set for food, and basically sit down and eat.
This being the inaugural attempt at deep frying the turkey, there was a lack of peanut oil........so being men, they figure they can just add vegetable oil..... They find all the vegetable oil in the house, and it still isn't enough. So they head to the nearest store that is open on thanksgiving, and buy some more vegetable oil.... Pictures and video tell the story...

Jesse and I attempting to make sure the turkey is clean and dry.


Jeff, Scott, and Jesse ( from left to right), assembly the fryer.






While we are waiting for the turkey to cook, Denise and I decide that we are going to snag a piece of pumpkin pie, without letting anyone else see. Unfortunately for us, Denise is a picture freak as well, and documented it...but it was still fun.

Finally the turkey was ready and we were ready to eat.



You can always pick out Jesse's plate because if it has any form of potatoes involved, there is always ketchup to accompany it.

Jeff and Shanna


Scott and Denise

And the room mates, me and Jesse.
It was really great to be able to spend Thanksgiving with family and friends. I miss being with my parents and brothers and sister and their respective families, but this is my Florida family and they made me feel completely at home.

Okay, I don't usually buy into these things, but since I was one of the four tagged, I guess I kind of have to...

A) Four places that I go to over and over:
Work, Wal-Mart, the Library, Taco Bell
B) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Jesse, Jenna, Krisha, Leane
C) Four of my favorite places to eat:
Texas Roadhouse, Rubio's (only in PHX), Taco Bell, Olive Garden
D) Four other places I would rather be right now:
In bed--asleep, visiting family, watching a movie, running
E) Four people I intend to tag:
Katie, Suzette, Christina, Alisse
F) Four TV shows I watch:
Fox N Friends. The O'Reilly Factor, Dr. Phil, America's Got Talent ( when it was on)

New Life in Florida

I have been in Florida for seven months now, crazy, it seems like I have been here forever. It's funny, cause people ask me if I miss home, and I say no, because Florida is my home now. And it feels like home...for now. But I know that this is not my last stop. I don't know what my next stop will be, but somehow I feel that I won't stay here. But I tell them I miss my family desperately... but I can't dwell on it, or I would never get anything done. But the reason for this blog is to tell you a little bit more about my life here in the last seven months. Not just activities, but thoughts and ideas that have come about from living here.
I have made a very diverse group of friends at work, and with that, brings new ideas and ways of thinking. I am not sure if many of you know exactly why I moved, but part of it was to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people... So it seems that I moved to the right place.
With every new person I meet that has different beliefs than I have, it makes me wonder if mine are right. Growing up in Arizona, most everyone I knew, had the same core beliefs I did, not just religious beliefs, but also politically. Florida is not quite the same. It is considered a swing state, which can go Democrat or Republican. So, when I hear views that are more liberal than my own, I try to be open minded and listen to their side. I take time to think about it, question it, analyze it, and make a decision. Usually I end up right back at square one, believing what I started with. It amazes me that your core beliefs are exactly that; the core of you. The essence of what makes you who you are. Questioning it has only made me stronger in what I believe.

Some times, it sways me a little, but I usually end up right back where I started. I have learned that every encounter you have with people around you, effects you, positively or negatively. But you decide how it is going to effect you. When I first moved here, I was incredibly home sick and questioned my move almost daily. But, family and friends helped me understand the changes and realize that I control how I let things make me feel. So every encounter I have, I try to make it a positive influence in my life and learn from it. I guess you could say I am maturing. haha. Anyhow, I just wanted to tell you all thank you for your help and support.

My First Cruise!!!

So, I know this was last minute, and some of you probably had no idea I even went on a cruise, but it was even a surprise to me!!! Robert, a guy I had started dating, had bought a cruise months ago, and had never found anyone to go with him, so the last day he could add someone, asked me if I would like to go. It took me about five minutes to think about it, and OF COURSE, I said yes!!

It was a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas, and I had never been so I was SO EXCITED!!! He had been on a cruise a little less than a year ago, so he knew "all about cruisin'".



Here we are in the car driving to Port Canaveral, where we were scheduled to depart from.


Here is a blurry picture of the boat as we are crossing the bridge into Port Canaveral.


This is my first time on a boat bigger than my Grandpa Welling's sailboat.

This is the lighthouse outside the harbor into Nassau.
This is the famous Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, owned by Mr. Donald Trump... Most people decided to take the ferry across the water to the island, or a cab, but Robert decided we should walk. Now mind you, I am not opposed to walking at all, but the Bahamas are exactly like Florida, in that humidity is always a factor, and it was September, so still in the 90's. Needless to say, I was glad to finally be at Atlantis when we got there.

The Atlantis Resort is a lot like the casino's in Las Vegas that have all the shops and all the tourist items. We walked around the shops and took some pictures with some of the statues and water fountains inside the resort. I have one comment to add, I think he only let me actually take a picture once, so there are more embarrassing pictures of me, than him. And he was very sneeky about taking pictures of me.



Most people would delete the bad picture, oh no, not him, he saves them and waits until after the trip is over to show me the horrible pictures, so I figured it was only fair to share them with you guys.

This is the one picture I got to take, the whole trip.

Here is Robert, playing with the camera while I finish getting ready for formal night.

But worth the wait, right???


That night we set sail for Cococay, Bahamas, an island that Royal Caribbean owns. We went snorkeling, which was a first for me. I had a little bit of a hard time at first, with the whole under water breathing thing, but after about ten minutes, I finally got used to it. I saw a jelly fish and thought of Dori on Finding Nemo, and swam away as fast as I could. We saw the most colorful fish, it was amazing.


Yet another picture taken of me, that I had no idea about until he showed me the pictures...

We had so much fun, I don't think I have ever eaten so much food in my life. and it was some of the best food I have ever had. If you ever have a chance to take a cruise, I would definitely recommend it.
The funniest part about the whole trip was when we came back into port, got home and was doing normal things around the house, I could feel myself trying to compensate for the rock of the boat, commonly known as sea legs... It took about two days for them to go away, but it was worth it.

Okay, Okay, Okay

I know it has been forever since I made my last post, but I feel like my life is kinda boring right now. So I will try to recap on everything that has happened in the last few months. As many of you know, I had spent the last few months training for a 5k race. I finally completed it on August 2, 2008 in just under 42 minutes. Being that it was my first race ever, it was also my personal best!! Here is the picture of me crossing the finish line.



I went back to Arizona the following week for Suzette's wedding reception and to see the family because I hadn't seen everybody since I left in March. It was good to see everybody and to hang out with Kiley. Here are a few pictures of her that I took while we were outside in Grandma's backyard.

This is Kiley wearing my sunglasses, posing like always!!!
















Here she is playing with the toy dolphin.

I had my first experience with a tropical storm, Fay, but the worst we got was a lot of rain. There are some areas near the Atlantic coast, and also north of Orlando that experienced flooding, but we are okay. Now we are getting quite a bit of rain from Hurricane Gustav, but it shouldn't be too bad either. However, there is another storm, Hanna, that is headed for Florida, so we will see what happens with that.

I have decided that I am going to run another 5k, at the end of October, so training starts tomorrow. Hopefully this gets everyone up to date, and I will try to do better at keeping my blog updated.

Oops...

I accidentally posted the first half and then the second half, so the second half shows up first... oops. Maybe if I blogged more often, I would know how this thing works. So read the part below the pics first. lol

As we were driving home, I looked back and saw Keegan like this. She kept looking back to find her papa cause we had left Jesse in Tampa. She loves him sooo much.

Our softball league is over for the season, and I can't say I am too upset about it. It seemed like every game we had, i got hit with the ball. We had a good run though and will probably play again in the Fall when it starts to cool down again, hopefully.

I am still training for a 5K in August and everything is on schedule so far. I am up to running 2 miles and I really excited about running the race. Sometimes finding the motivation is hard, especially after a long day at work, but I am starting a new life out here, and staying active is an integral part of that.

Last, but not least, I have been dating a guy that I met and have been enjoying that quite a bit. His name is David and we get along so well. He is a chef at a restaurant downtown and really enjoys it. We went to play pool last week and took a few pictures, one of which I have added below. Hopefully this catches everybody up to speed for the most part, and I will try to do better.

An Adventurous Month

Sorry, it has been so long since I have posted. It has been on my list of things to do, along with sweeping, moping, dishes, you get the idea.... Things have been really good. I have been here in Orlando for exactly three months now. Feels like I have been here FOREVER (in a good way, ya know?). Work is going well, however I am sure you are all just as aware as we are of rising fuel costs and what that means to the airlines. I pray everyday that I still have a job tomorrow but I know everything will work out in the end.
Last weekend, Jesse got called for a trip to start in Tampa, FL on Sunday morning, but was just scheduled to ride as a passenger (Deadhead) to Tampa. However, nobody flies from Orlando direct to Tampa, so He was going to have to go from Orlando to Atlanta to Tampa. Six hours of flying when it is only a hour and a half drive away. So we decided to make a road trip of it and take Keegan to the beach. Keegan loved swimming in the ocean and when we remembered to take pictures, we realized we had left the camera back at his hotel...so the only picture from the whole trip is the one I took of Keegan in the car ride home.

Oh so boring

Life for the past few weeks hasn't been very exciting. I have been trying to think about things to write4 about and always come up short. next Tuesday will be our third week of softball and so far we tied our first game and won the second. Hopefully we will keep it going.
The weather is really starting to warm up here. I took Keegan for a walk this morning and we were both worn out from the humidity and heat. Umm. like I said, not to interesting right now. Oh, I have decided that I needed something to occupy all my spare time and so I have decided to train for a 5K. I have picked one out that will be here in Orlando in August, yuck, but at least I should be used to the climate by then. I was trying to see if I can get some sort of countdown clock on my page, but I don't really know how to do that. So if anyone knows how, let me know.

Keegan McNeil

Keegan loves to sleep on the bed and always has to be touching you, very similar to the way Kiley sleeps. She usually ends up in a position like this. But she is so sweeet. I have grown to love her so much.

Trying to get her to look at the camera is hard.

Look at those sweet brown eyes...

Keegan just had surgery on Monday to be spayed and is not happy that she can't go outside or play at the dogpark. She is going stir crazy.

This one's for you Alisse

So, not much has been going on the past two weeks. I have been trying to find things to do and ways to meet new people. I joined a softball team with some co-workers at AirTran. I haven't played since....um...I can't really remember. I think the last time was with Lucas and maybe Ben, and we played on a Co-Ed team, may have been for church...not really sure. Needless to say, I am a little rusty.
I have had another adventure with my car. I left for lunch one day and after getting to my destination, I went back out to my car, and the battery was D-E-A-D. went to the local Autozone and got me a replacement. It's almost like a brand new car now. HAHA..
It's still a little surreal being here in Orlando but Jesse and Keegan make things a little easier. We go to the dog park and meet new people there. I will have to post some pictures of Keegan so everyone will know who I am talking about. She is such a lovable dog, but she is very mischievous. she loves to steal things, especially food when you are not looking. I went to Panda Express the other night and she stole my crab puffs of the counter and had the box opened and completely gone before I even realized. Silly dog.
Craig, sorry I missed your birthday. I was on my way to work and I remembered, but then I realized that 0800 my time is 0500 your time, and I know I wouldn't like someone calling me that early. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Alisse, I was just thinking that it has been a while since I last wrote, when I saw your comment, so this one is for you. I am going to try to update weekly so everyone can stay up to speed. Later Tater.!!!

March 15, 2008

Wow, I can't believe I actually did it. I have thought of this day since I was in high school; that I would be able to travel and live in a new place. For the past three years, working for Mesa Airlines, I have had the chance to travel all over the United States. From going to Fresno, CA on the West Coast, to New York City, NY on the East, I have traveled to so many places do to the travel benefits of working for an airline.
Now I begin a new chapter in my life. I moved to Orlando, FL to work for another airline, AirTran Airways. I have spent the last month downsizing everything I own, so that I would be able to fit 27 years of my life into the trunk and back seat of my Mazda 6, whom I have affectionately named Misty. Jenna volunteered to be my traveling buddy and we set out on Sunday evening, March 2nd for the 2200 mile journey. We had done road trips before but nothing like this. So, of course, we had to get the traveling snacks, and as always, overdid it. We had so many goodies that we were shoving them in all the nooks and crannies that we could find. The first night we planned on making it from Phoenix, AZ to El Paso, TX about 400 miles away. We stayed with Steve Foster, a friend that I had made at Mesa. He and his family graciously accepted us into their home and allowed us to get some rest before we continued on our journey. WE left El Paso the morning of March 3rd to drive through the dreaded state of Texas. It literally takes a whole day to get through it. We got snow in West Texas as Jenna and I took turns driving. We contemplated stopping in Houston, TX for the night, but there was no way I was going to start in Texas again. So we made it to Louisiana and stayed in a hotel.
Day 3 began with a Southern Breakfast of ham, eggs, and of course, biscuits. We left Louisiana and quickly crossed through Mississippi and Alabama, and straight into Florida were we hit rain for the first time on our trip. We had been driving now for three days and were more than ready to get to my new home in Orlando. We drove into the nieghborhood and passed the house the first time. Then pulled into the driveway and entered the house to find an excited Keegan ( my roommate's dog) waiting for us.
Jenna was scheduled to take the first flight back to Phoenix the next morning so we quickly unloaded the car and had dinner and went to bed. The next morning we had no problems finding the airport, however, I got lost finding the way back to my house. Being in a new city is not as easy as living in the same town for 24 years. I had no idea where I was and no idea how to find where I needed to go. Thankfully I have a very patient and helpful roommate, Jesse. I called him and after laughing, pointed me in the right direction.
I spent the rest of the morning shopping for household items I was not able to take with me and paying attention to my surroundings as I drove around. Once Jesse got home from his trip, we were able to get my bed and dresser from a friend who had volunteered to bring them out from Phoenix, where he had moved from the week before. After we got my bed and dresser in the house, I was finally able to start unpacking.
The rest of the week was spent getting used to the house and my new city. Google maps has become my new best friend and I love the resource of the internet more everyday. Everything with the job and move had gone so smoothly that I was wondering how long it was going to last when as I was driving to IKEA across town, my clutch started acting weird. I made it there and back safely, but when Jesse arrived home the next day, he did an inspection and confirmed my dad's suspicions that I would need to replace the Master and Slave cylinders for the clutch. Sunday night I was scheduled to go to Atlanta, GA for New Hire Orientation and would not be able to take it to the shop. Jesse offered to take it for me and when he went to take it Monday morning, it wouldn't go into gear. So, when I got home we called AAA and had it towed.
Tuesday morning, my first day of my new job, the shop calls me and tells me that it will be at least a day before they will be able to fix it because they have to ship in the parts. Seriously??? in a big city like this, nobody has those parts??? So we wait another day and as Jesse is on his way to pick me up from work, they call me to tell me that my car is fixed and ready to go. Whew, such a relief.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I also caught the nasty cold that is going around and have been dealing with that in addition to the car problems. So, I show up for work on Tuesday and am supposed to meet everyone, but my ears still haven't cleared from the night before so I can't hear, and I can't shake any body's hands because I don't want to get everyone else sick. UGH!!! I was supposed to start training for my new job, Crew Pay Specialist, but the lady who is supposed to train me was told Wednesday, not Tuesday. So I cleaned my desk, then we went to lunch, and when we got back, I got sent home sick, my first day!!!! I went home and crashed out, which was exactly what I needed.
I went back to work Wednesday and started learning parts of my job. So far, I have learned how to run reports and make sure that pilots are getting paid what they should be. I am enjoying it and picking it up quickly. The people I work with are extremely nice and very helpful and understanding. I am very excited to go to work, which hasn't been the case in a while. Not that I didn't enjoy my last job, of the people I worked with, but I was caught in a rut in my life and needed a change. I didn't realize just how big and drastic the change was going to be.
So far I have been in Orlando for 11 days and I am really starting to like it. Today, Keegan and I went to the dog park in our neighborhood and it was so humid because it had stormed last night. I have learned that storms are a regular occurrence here, and it is something I will just have to get used to. The humidity is an amazing thing. Right now I am loving it because my skin feels so hydrated. I am sure in a month or so I will be cursing it, but that all comes with the territory, right??
So here it is, Saturday afternoon, my ears still haven't cleared, :( and I decided that it was time to take the advice of my sister-in-law Alisse, and friend, Solana, and start a blog. At first I thought it was a little silly, but now that I do it, I realize that these are the stories that I tell everyone I know anyway, so now you can see it for yourself and hear it as I hear it in my head. Hopefully it will make as much sense to you as it does to me. And hopefully I will start taking pictures and you can see what I see. Here is where I should insert a cutesy catch phrase, but I don't have one, so, until next time...... :)