Witchy Woman

I've never dressed as a witch before, but when you wait until the very last minute to get a costume together, you take what you can find in the costume aisle at Wal-mart.  Good times were had by all!

front door facelift

I've been hard at work on my big list of home repairs!  I tried to spruce things up a bit with a fresh coat of paint on the ol' front door.  Much cozier!

Also, I finally got my programmable thermostat installed.  I recently signed up for the on-call program through the power company, too.  They can reallocate power from my a/c and hot water tank for up to 3 hours during times of high energy demand.  They add a nice little credit on my bill in return.

Lots more to come in the next few weeks... stay tuned!

a sea-bean weekend

Good times with Terri and Kent!

Florida is a hotspot for sea-beans, or seeds from tropical plants that float around in ocean currents and eventually reach the beach, sometimes from thousands of miles away.  I spent the weekend in Cocoa Beach with over 100 sea-beaners from all over the country- what a great group of people!

Japanese fishing float

Not only was I fortunate enough to find 12 species to add to my collection, but I was also lucky enough to be gifted a Japanese fishing float from one of the guest speakers, Dr. Beachcomb.  The floats have an interesting history: they are made of hand-blown glass and used in the early to mid-1900s in the fishing industry to keep nets afloat.  If the net broke in rough seas, the floats circumnavigated the currents and did one of two things: shattered and turned to sea glass, or washed up on beaches in the Pacific.  My float was found by Dr. Beachcomb on a beach in Waikiki, which is extremely rare.  She shared a touching story from her book, A Beachcombers Odyssey, about feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders after the death of her mother.  She went beachcombing to escape her persistent nightmares and in the pouring rain, she spotted the fishing float in the surf.  And before too long, her outlook on life improved and now, many years later, she's passing on the good luck to someone new.  As a new sea-beaner, I am honored to have such a treasure!




These cute ones are aptly named hamburger beans!

 

Best Birthday Surprise Ever!

Thank you to everyone who sent cards and gifts- wow, I feel loved!

As you already know, my birthday is pretty much a major holiday.  And turning the big 3-0, this bday was huge.  My mom asked me to be home at 4:00 to sign for a package, but she actually planned a surprise trip and rang my doorbell herself :)  It took some time to get over the shock and confusion of how in the world she got here and how she planned this whole trip on her own, but we had a great time!  She even organized a surprise birthday party at Amigos which was just perfect. 

We visited the beach (of course!) and went shopping, and spend TONS of time doing projects around the house.  Several trips to the Home Depot and a few Benjamin Franklins and I now have a very cozy, livable house.  Thanks Mom for such a great bday- I might even have to turn 30 again next year ;)

Moving Up!

Environmental education is always a dynamic career field with people constantly coming and going, but I just so happened to luck out and earned myself a promotion!  We will all miss Brooke (and she left me some huge shoes to fill let me tell ya!) so we took this great little picture as a momento! 

The funny thing is that Sarah M. and I said way back in 2005 that we wanted to become Education Coordinators someday... and now we are :)  We both started at the very bottom (grant funding, no benefits) and have moved our way up the ladder.  My new position is very similar to the job I had when I was here before, but much more secure, which is a great thing in this economy.  Who knew that 3 months after I left NC, that I'd be a homeowner?  And that 3 months after returning to Naples, I'd be promoted?  I guess I am just plain lucky :)