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.