Hiatus

I am going to be honest...I am not "into" blogging right now. I'm not going to delete this blog but I am taking a vacation for sure. I haven't posted anything in some time so as I jumped on here today hoping I would have something to say I again fell short of words. Life is a new adventure now with twists and turns...a journey that I am happy to be on. Thanks for reading and having fun these last few years. I might just be back some other time but for now I am on hiatus from the bloggy world. Happy blogging to all and have a lovely autumn!

So, What have we been up to?

Well, since we moved here I have only posted pictures of my new little puppy - so I thought it was time to let you know what we have been up to in our new town. We love Kansas City and have done a lot of exploring so far, plus we have found new things that we love to do here. And a bonus has been a short day trip away from all of my family and friends. Enjoy!

We have taken up riding giant stone turtles at shopping malls.
We have become avid paddle boaters...

We are obsessed with our new little puppy Oliver and take tons of pictures of he and his big brother Harley.

I have hung out in my friend Pam's future home location

I made food (including this triple berry trifle) for a Baby Shower for my expecting friend Heather...

We went to Tulsa and watched the fireworks with my family...oh yeah, and got eaten alive by mosquitos!

We have had great times settling into our new home together...

I went shopping with my brother and his wife at the Plaza in Kansas City...

My Mom hung up the curtains in my living room exactly one hour after I unlocked the front door for the first time and we started moving in...seriously...

We went to Kyle's brother's wedding on Lake Michigan and added a great new gal to our family!

And most importantly...we eat A LOT of sushi!! We are beyond obsessed!

Hope you enjoyed the little sneak peak into our lives in our new home in the midwest. We both are so glad that we had our adventure in Florida but we are excited about this adventure even more!

He was giving me the "snake eye"

Literally! Now I have had my run-ins with snakes in the past (remember this post? - #6) but that was quite a different scenario than the little slithery critter who was sunning himself on my patio when I got up this morning to let the puppies out. YIPES! I jumped a mile back from the sliding glass door and tried to evaluate what I was going to do about this scaley menace...in the end I called my husband at work (who tried to convince me to go outside and kill it with a grill utensil..um NO!...I think it was because he knows I am a wee bit braver than he..hee hee), then I called my Grandmother who I know has killed a snake before and we decided that I should boil water and throw it on it to scare it away. In the end, I watched it like an episode of Animal Discovery, took the boys outside on leashes via the front yard and squealed like a little girl when it slipped through the grass and out of the lawn.

Anyone else have a good snake story??

Rip. Torn.

It was just another manic monday...and then I let myself out in public and of course - disaster occurred. I had a bunch of errands to run and I during my first errand - Riiippppppp!!!!

I was trying on these shoes at this little boutique. I have been meaning to come and do this for months because these shoes are supposed to be awesome for back and knee trouble. They are called Zcoil shoes (I will blog about them later if they turn out to be as awesome as they promise)...anywhoodle, I am trying on these shoes in this little boutique with the guy who runs it and we are the only ones there. He is helping me and telling me about all the spectacular things about these wonderful shoes and I am bouncing around on them and having a ball, then I decided to sit down and try on a different style. Let me preface this by saying that I was wearing really comfy 5 year old worn thin blue jeans that had been sewn and pinned in order to keep them alive (They were my fave.). Okay so I sit down to try on the next pair of shoes when I put my foot on my knee to tie the shoe I hear "RIIIIiiiiippppppp!" and to my horror I look down and see about 3 inches of bare thigh - my jeans had ripped. I tried to cover it up even though I am sure that my shoe guy had heard and scene my embarassing situation. I put on the shoes and walk around trying to hide the bare part of my leg - when I try on the next pair I very gingerly put them on and then yep...you guessed it..."RIIIIiiiiipppppppp!" and my 3 inch blowout has just turned into a 10 inch blow out. I kid you not my blogger friends - I was baring 10 inches of white thigh...oh my gosh the HORROR. I knew it was time to get out of there! I bought the shoes and waddled out like my thighs were glued together. So? Are you laughing as hard as my Mom was when I called her from my car outside the store. She was wishing pretty hard that she had been there...I never would have lived it down had I had a more intimate audience. Thank goodness shoe guy either didn't see or had the graciousness to ignore it.

So, like I said in the beginning of the post - I had lots of errands to run and clearly could not do them all waddling like a penguin. I headed to the mall where I had an errand to take care of anyway and waddled my bare leg into the Gap for some new blue jean! It was an emergency purchase and afterwards I waddled my way to the nearest restroom and restored my attire to something more acceptable and much less revealing! I wanted to change at the store but was just too embarassed to bring anyone else into the situation (you know what I mean). So although I could totally laugh the whole time...it is even funnier looking back out how I really had to walk carefully and hold my purse in the right position to protect my major blow out!

So, I guess I am on a diet now...I mean seriously...I am blowing out jeans! Good grief! Thanks for sharing the laugh!

Interview with a vampire.

I had an interview for a job last week and it seems that the first impression I made with my interviewer was my extremely cold hands. After shaking my hand she said, "Wow, your hands are freezing! Are you a vampire?....hee hee I have been reading a lot of vampire books!".

I bet you didn't think I was going to be the vampire in this story, huh?

While I have read the same vampire books I have to say that this was a weird beginning of the interview for me. The next part is that I ended up having to wait 45 minutes for the interview to begin which made me want to bite someone frankly...you know how we vampires are.

The next part of the interview gets less odd on the vampire front as there are no more references to my possible role in the Twilight Saga but, as far as an interview goes it turns out a bit different.

What I mean is that the actual interview questions were very uninterview like and much more personality test like. Instead of asking me about my experience, education, portfolio or work ethic these are the following questions that she asked:

1. Describe this room we are sitting in.

2. How do you like to shop?

3. Describe a time in your life when everything was great and going top notch.

4. Describe a time in your life when things weren't going great.

5. What was your best shopping experience?

6. What was your worst shopping experience?

7. Give me three words that your best friends would use to describe you.

And yeah...there were more but I can't even remember them - I felt like I was doing an interview for an article in Seventeen Magazine. I was upbeat and answered all the questions and actually had fun...kind of like writing in my diary...

I haven't got a call back so I don't think that I got the job...and although I do need the money and would have taken it I have some hope to work somewhere that is just a little more serious about the actual profession of design not about how I react when I have a super bad hair day...

Anywhoo - It was good to be interviewing and back out there on the job market. Of course with my only being awake during the night and my thirst for blood...the choices are slim.

Vampire out-

More Oliver pics!

Oliver's first bath!


My handsome little guy!

Meet Oliver!

Here is our new puppy Oliver, he is three months old and cute as a button!

In case you are wondering, our little Oliver is a Morkie puppy which means that his parents were a purebread Yorkie and a purebread Maltese. He is a caramel color with some grey and red coloring as well - he is very unique!

25 going on WHAT??

Hey there kiddos! I know I have been incommunicado the last few months but I have just been settling in to our new home and guess what? We decided to get a new puppy and he is just adorable. I will post a pick soon.

This week is my birthday and I think I finally get what people always told me growing up - when you get to a certain age you just don't care so much about making a big deal about your birthday. I am so there. Normally I would be looking for a great new outfit for the special day and checking and double checking plans so that I would have the perfect day. Right now I am just thinking..Hmmmm..my birthday is this week. How fun, it will be nice to go to a nice dinner and celebrate - except that we go to dinner all the time so it really won't be any different. And I tell my husband not to go overboard on a gift because we really cant afford it right now...with age I guess comes lack of enthusiam over birthdays.

Now, dont think I am an old fuddy duddy or anything - I will have a great birthday, eat some cake and feel special...I just feel different than I used to. What do you think? Are you still a kid at heart about your birthday or has the big day crept up without the calendar countdown you used to do?

In other words...it's time for a change.

This blog has for some time been a place for me to update photos and events in my life and on the occasion tell an embarassing story or two. I am not going to say that I will no longer do that but, I have just lost the desire to post about such things for a while and as you have seen I haven't had a desire to blog at all. I have been thinking about it for a while and debating whether or not I will just delete the blog and start something different. But, I have all my friends and readers connected here already and I am linked to all of your blogs through here so I hate to change everything and rebuild - so I am going to be working on a new look and a new format for Reflections of Moi, who knows! It might not even be "Reflections of Moi" anymore!
Hold on tight!

Settling in...

Well, it's Tuesday morning and I am sitting here at home watching my fave movie Juno and thinking about what I should blog about.

I got nothin.

Things are going really great here in the big K - Kyle really likes his job and I am continuing my search. We have been spending our time settling into our new home and discovering our new stomping ground. KC is a great place with tons to see and do and OH my gosh the shopping! Shopaholics should probably not live here!
We love the area and the people are so nice - seriously it makes you wonder sometimes about living somewhere outside the midwest. People are just different in other areas of the country even though we are hours from where either of us grew up there is something that feels like coming home.

So that is it for now. Life is good and we are more and more sure everyday that we made the right decision.

Happy Blogging all! I'm not sure how consistent my blogging will be in the near future - thanks for reading though.

Hello Kansas!

Move in Day! Hopefully (fingers-crossed as I am auto-posting this) the trip went great and we are moving into our new location today! Think of us as we are lugging boxes up stairs and down stairs and wondering why of why we have so much stuff!

Hopefully I will be back soon with stories to tell...stay tuned as we get settled in to our new home.

Goodbye Florida!

We are now on the road - hopefully aleast half way or so - just wanted to say one last goodbye to Florida and its white sandy beaches, Disney world theme parks, alligators, lovebugs, lizards, palm trees...

...But most importantly a big goodbye to all of the wonderful friends we made while we were here. We will miss each of you and we will cherish all the memories that we made!

Moving Day!!!

Well, we are off on our new adventure! Goodbye Florida! Hello Kansas City!!!

The loading of the truck....

I thought this was hilarious! We are renting from budget so I hope our truck has a funny saying on it too!

Today is the day we are loading everything up, we are leaving early tomorrow morning and then the adventure will really begin. Kyle gets back from his trip to Los Angeles this morning and he will have no time to rest as we load up the truck! Kyle is fretting about my back and how it will hold up with this many hours in the car...but, I think it will be fine! I have my lil' back pillow and some meds if need be! Let's get this show on the road! Kansas here we come!

It's 5 o'clock somewhere.

On my first day of vacation unemployment I am just sitting here in my delicious hammock sipping on a pina colada...

Oh wait! I am moving - not on vacation! Out of the hammock! Alright now - last minute doctor's visits, oil change, medical records and such and such errands, packing, packing and more packing..oh yeah, dinner plans, more packing, phone calls, checking things off the list (oh yeah baby! you bet there is quite a list going...you know about me and lists!)

So my blissful hammock picture really looks a lot more like this:

Well, I came about my unemployment voluntarily because my hubby and I are relocating for his job - but it still makes me cringe a bit (okay a bunch) to not know when I will be bringing in any income. So I am now on the hunt for work. I mean I need a JOB...like yesterday!

Momentous Days

Today is my last day at my job. Hopefully it won't be too long before I find a new place to work that feels safe and relaxed. I will miss this place and while not having to come to work tommorrow feels like I am going on vacation...I know that when I leave today I will be sad. I will miss the sweet and funny people and the caring and considerate bosses I have been blessed with. I will always cherish the education I received while working here and will always appreciate what they taught me...whether or not it all benefits me in the future. I hope that I won't work somewhere that requires me to draw roof details, or site and plumbing plans - but, if they do you can be sure that I will be prepared!

Maybe I won't find another place with Trapper Keeper 70's wall graphics and crazy Blue and Yellow accent walls. Perhaps I will choose finishes under one type of fluorescent lighting instead of a cool and warm combo. Maybe I will have to pay for my root beer instead of having a stocked fridge and all the peanut butter and crackers you can snack on available to me. I will miss the astronomical amount of diet coke that is drank here daily and I will miss The Biggest Loser rehash sessions with on Wednesdays. I will miss the singing and drumming that happens in the afternoons and no one at my new work will put the Christmas Hippo song over the intercom during the holidays...and somtime's not during the holidays...

Will my new work lower my drafting height desk to my exact measurements and buy me a special chair for my 89 year old back? Will they worry excessively about my chocolate allergy?

I don't know where I will be working or what I will be doing. All I know is that I am leaving a wonderful job and I will miss the people. I am on to new and exciting things and hope to find out exactly what my niche will be in this industry.

So, farewell Florida you have been good to me...aside from the health problems, car accidents and chaos. I fell in love here, got married here, grew up here in more ways than one and you know what? I even became an interior designer here. Thanks Florida and thanks SCMH I will always have you in my heart and in my mind when I am trying to remember the correct way to draw something.

Thanks.

Tuesdays Unwrapped...and my 400th post!

Today is my 400th post. I can't believe I have found that much to say....oh, wait..yeah I can..I can be super chatty. Well, I am celebrating this momentous occasion by playing along with Emily at Chatting at the Sky's Tuesday's Unwrapped. Here is what she asks; "Include a story or a photo documenting your messy, lovely, unexpected gifts of the small and ordinary nature."

While we are going through this big life change at the moment of moving cross country and starting over in a new place with new jobs, etc. I remembered this picture of my and my husband, we were having photos made for Christmas card a few years ago and this wasn't so much a pose as it was a special sweet moment between me and my special guy.

I love this photo for how it reminds me to slow down (even amidst chaos) and just enjoy this amazing man that I love. So, today (in this moment) I am unwrapping those priceless moments even when there is packing to do, and schedules to follow and people to call....for this moment babe - it's just you and me (and well, all my readers...wink wink).

Some Mondays don't feel like Mondays...

Today is my next to last day at work. The fabulous and amazing people that I work with have decided that if I must leave then we must have food to commemorate the event. They have ordered Macaroni Grill catered food in and a cake for us all to have today at lunch as a little going away party for MOI!

I was so touched to hear about the plan and now today my stomach is growling and I can't wait for the food to get here. I heart Macaroni Grill so this was a great idea. I have been really blessed to work with such a great company and such lovely people. It has a very professional atmosphere at the same time that we are able to have fun and joke around as well. Sometimes people play funny music over the intercom and other times some singing/ drumming can be heard from one bay to the other... It has been a great place to work and I will definitely miss everyone when I leave. I am still a little in shock that that day will be tomorrow. My things are boxed up and my desk is empty...as excited as I am to move, it is really hard to think that after tomorrow I won't have this secure and safe job and I will be out there looking for another job.

The Garage Sale?

It went really well. We got up at 6:30 (yes, 6:30 on a Saturday) and went to put up our signs. Then we started setting up for the sale and we had people there looking before we knew it!

We kept it going until 2 and then we called it a day, counted our gains and took the rest to goodwill. We did pretty well overall and really got rid of almost everything. We had a small box of miscellaneous and a decent sized bag of clothes leftover and we were happy to see them gone soon after. Now we can get to work on packing all the junk that we want to keep!

Happy Monday!

One man's trash...is another man's treasure!

Well, I wouldn't call our garage sale items "trash" persay, just the product of the insatiable American way - TOO MUCH STUFF. We have been overwhelmed at how much stuff we have kept but neglected to use - NOW is the time to clean it out and get it out the door!
We continued our packing and sorting rampage last night and I have to say that we are still doing quite well ( cross my fingers we might avoid the chaotic throwing stuff in a box cuz we don't care anymore routine that normally happens ). We are packing and sorting simultaneously and the living room is quick becoming a storage room of sorts - at least until tomorrow's big sale.

Tonight we are sorting and pricing and setting up the sale in the garage so we can get it ready to go bright and early (cuz that is just how we roll....well, not normally to be honest :))
I am excited and hope that we have a lot of people stop by and peruse our cast offs.

I personally like to go to Yard Sales. I love to scout for furniture that can be repurposed or refinished to be like new. I have done that a lot and furnished a lot of my home on a meager budget and a lot of hard work and black spray paint. I like to get out there and see what someone is getting rid of that I might be able to make work perfect for me. I am a scanner though! I don't stop unless I see furniture or something that looks like a Moi Project waiting to happen.

Have a Happy Friday and hopefully I will have a good report on Monday for you!
My work is throwing me a going away lunch on Monday ala' Macaroni Grill and I am really excited! Tuesday is my last day and then it is all packing and no looking back!

Have a fabulous weekend!

The Moving. The Junk. Whose stuff is this?

Well, we went into the major moving and sorting phase last night after some delish free grilled chicken ala' Oprah. We are starting in the back of the house and working forward - although our complete plan of finishing both rooms was not realized last night, we did make some serious headway and our garage sale pile continues to grow by leaps and bounds! We really have A. LOT. OF. JUNK.

We sorted through papers and boxes just full of STUFF that we hadn't seen in a year (or needed for a year for that matter), and went through pile after pile of clothes. I have a feeling that one garage sale alone won't make a big enough dent in the stack - the rest will go to goodwill or something as we don't have the time to allow for garage sale number 2 and that junk definitely is not coming back inside once it hits the garage!

Tonight we are hoping to finish those rooms up and maybe start to creep our progress through the rest of the house - at least sorting-wise. Tomorrow we will be setting up the garage for the big sale and continuing our packing as it is our last weekend to pack as Kyle will be busy next weekend. Thankfully we have next week to throw it together - hopefully "throwing" it in an organized and easy to unpack fashion.

The best thing about this move is that my Mom will be meeting us in K.C. to unload and move us into our new casa. This is great because my Mom is the best mover ever. EVER. She is best at the unloading because she starts whipping things out of boxes and putting them away immediately - while I just stare at the boxes and decide how to live around them until I need something from them. K and I are the worst movers - it takes us FOREVER to get resettled, we just get overwhelmed by all the stuff (pretty much how we are right now as we are packing said stuff). To put it in perspective - we moved into our current house in July and didn't have company over until Halloween - it is that serious. She will have our kitchen organized and done before she leaves - I just know it! She will probably have pictures on the walls. If we can get things unpacked or at least organized - I will feel less overwhelmed and be ready to start the design and fluffy part where I get everything decorated and organized just how I want it.

I already have some great ideas for the new place (I can imagine my husbands frustrated sigh as he reads that line). I don't have a lot to do today at work so I have been sketching out some layout ideas and leafing through the new Ballard Designs catalog I received this morning (it is already chock full of cyan post-its!). I don't plan to purchase things necessarily from the catalog as I don't have the mullah that is needed - but they are a great source for inspiration especially for things that i might be able to do myself with a little scrappyness and a great yard sale find. Thanks to all the lovely design blogging gals that I know - I will get my ideas ironed out easily. Plus the bonus is that I will get to share my new decorating adventures with all my devoted readers (wink!)

Here are some of the MUST HAVES/ must figure out how to re-create stuff that I found.

These are not the colors of the fabric I would choose - but I love the little banquette seating for a casual kitchen corner.In the new house there is a little kitchen island with an overhang - I think a couple of these stools would look super cute (p.s. they match my kitchen chairs!)I adore this office - I might actually want to go in there if it was this cute (minus the rug)!

So excited to figure this out - maybe I will even post a sketch tomorrow if I come up with something I like. Happy Thursday!

Moving...on.

I used to joke that in every semester of college I was someone different. I was still me of course but, every different semester posed so many new discoveries, challenges, environments, friends and dramas that looking back I feel that in almost every situation I was reinvented.

As a freshman I was a theatre major. I wore yoga pants to class because we had kineseology exercises (not to mention it was at 8am), I lived with my best friend, I was immersed in theatre and discovering all the newness that college brings. I also had a great crush... The next semester I switched to design, lived alone, and dressed up for class everyday (I also didnt have a class before 11 am). The next two were not insanely different but were definitely a departure from the first year as I lived with 3 other girls and the main focus of life was passing the entrance exams to the professional level for design and well of course...blowing off class to go to The City. I had a major family dsyfunction, 4 potent crushes and maybe even a bit-o-love. The next year I was recovering from my bit-o-love and was completely reinvented almost to being unrecognizable, worked insanely at both my job and school, barely slept, had a enormous year long falling out with my best friend and then almost with my other best friend and really ended the year not knowing what my future would look like upon my return. The next two are a little blurry..or slurry but they are by far the most important. There was a lot more love and the rekindling of friendships, a lot of leadership responsibilities and the biggest life change of all - Kyle.

All of this to say that with all those things that were going on in my life I was often almost a different person in each moment as I was learning so many different things about myself through each adventure. By the time I moved to Florida I thought I knew myself inside and out. And I did - as a single girl; but what I have learned in my time since college is who I am in a relationship and who I am in love. It was shocking at times, fulfilling, sometimes scary, and amazingly wonderful and is a time that will always be stored in a sacred chamber of my heart. I will cherish these years here because they are when I fell in love, became an adult, got married and began to learn what it means to share a life with someone.

I am so anxious to see what this next chapter holds for me, in what ways will I grow and reinvent in this new place? What new memories are there to make there and how far away will these years in Florida soon seem to me?

As we pack up our home, cancel cable, forward mail, and plan for this ever nearing life change what can we do to preserve this time in our hearts forever?

We have pictures, friendships and most importantly our memories but, as all things fade with time I hope that we take something with us deeply internal that will stick with us and hold these first years together unmoved and unfading so that we might take them out from time to time and just lounge around with them in our pj's.

And so it begins!

Last night we started packing. It always starts out easy and lighthearted and then...as you open the next closet full to the brim with junk you start to slowly lose your mind - I personally start throwing stuff away and muttering about how we don't need this junk and how I wish we could just move somewhere and buy all new stuff so we wouldn't have to pack.

Well, we aren't to that stage yet but we have officially started the packing adventure. Last night we started going through clothes and organizing stuff for our garage sale this weekend. We are trying to really go through things well and to really stay organized with the move as we have to fit it all in one big Uhaul.

The two worst things for me to pack are the kitchen and all my home accents. The kitchen because I am wrapping everything carefully and worried about things being broken when we arrive at the new house and home accents because I always want to take them down very last. As soon as you take down pictures and curtains and knick knacks everything starts to feel so empty so I like to take those things down as late as possible so that things feel as normal as possible before we are ready to leave the house.

Things are getting ironed out though and we are making our lists of everything we need to do before the big departure - Can you believe it is two weeks from today?!?! Even typing that makes me really really nervous.

This weekend is our yard sale and then the next weekend Kyle's Dad will be here to help us load up and drive to Kansas. Time is just flying by! And next Tuesday is my last day at my job - now that is a whole other blog all together...

Happy Tuesday!

A place to call home...

We headed off into the great unknown last Thursday (the great unknown being Kansas) to spend the weekend searching for a rental home for our move in a few weeks.

We had about 10 places lined up to see over Thursday and Friday and we ended up looking at about 10 extra besides those! We had a pretty rough time overall as we kept hoping that we would walk into the perfect place and just KNOW that it was the right one for us.

By Friday night we were mixed on our top places and had yet to find one that we both totally agreed on and that really met our needs - by Saturday morning we got desperate and started heading back through the lists online to see if we missed any and also driving through a few more neighborhoods and calling the numbers on rental signs (we found quite a few to look at that way and the owners almost always met us within the hour). We were leaving at about 6 am on Sunday so Saturday was really our deadline.

We managed to go see one more place and when we walked in the door we finally felt the first shining moments of victory. The place was amazing and had everything we wanted and was in a great neighborhood to top it off! We called immediately only to find out that there was another lease pending on the home. AHH! terror! We knew we had to have it so the agent told us to go back to the hotel and fill out the online applications and then come to their office and sign a lease and put down a deposit and we could go into a little leasing war for the place. We were exhausted from our search and we designated a fall back place just in case and then we set off to try to get our application in!

So, we actually had to leave on Sunday without knowing if we got the place we wanted or if we were going to take our second choice whose location was not ideal. And then this morning we got a call and WE GOT IT!!! We are so excited and totally shocked that we got picked! I can't believe we will be there in just three weeks!

While we were there we also got to have lunch with all of Kyle's new co-workers and I got a tour of his amazing new office! And that same night (Friday) his boss and boss's wife took us out to Bonefish for dinner. It was great to get to know them and I am really excited for Kyle getting to work at such a great firm. Now, I just have to find something....

I actually got a few cards for design firms while we were there as well as meeting the designer who did Kyle's employers home. It was great to make a contact while I was there.
Yesterday we flew home and picked up our little furry guy from his puppy-sitters and were so relieved to be home. Home for now I guess.....I told Kyle that home for me is where he is so soon our home will be in Kansas. It is so nice to know that we have a place picked out to call home.

Happy Monday!

Time to SPILL THE BEANS!

Hey there friends! Sorry about the weeks of silence here at Reflections of Moi - things have been a little topsy turvy in our world the past few weeks...or months!
After much much prayer and decision making and well, pacing the floor in our living room..the change I have been chatting about is on it's way (and no I am not pregnant).

A few weeks ago Kyle had a job interview in Kansas City and after he returned home they promptly called and offered him a position. We weighed the pros and cons and the other possible job opportunities he had come across and then we ACCEPTED! We are officially moving back to the midwest. We are both originally from there so in many ways we are going to be much closer to our friends and family. But we are excited too that we are starting fresh in a new city. It is really fun to discover a new place and we remember how much fun we had in our first year in Florida! We are both thrilled and we want to thank you all for your prayers and thoughts through the rough times the past few months.

I have turned in my notice at work and we are searching for living arrangements and before long we will be driving out of Florida and off to our new adventure.
With that said...if I am once again silent then it is because the chaos of moving your whole life across the country has overcome my ability and desire to blog- but I will be back with stories to tell and fun new adventures to share when things calm down! And don't worry! I will take pics of the trek to share with you all.

"They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?" - You've Got Mail

My best friend surprised me the other day by sending me these beautiful flowers. I love daisies!

"Good friends are like angels. You don't have to see them to know they are there."

Fishing again...

We had so much fun fishing together the weekend before last that we just

had to go again! And this time we brought friends -

It was crazy windy this weekend and that made the fishing a bit of a challenge. Most of the time we felt like we were going to be blown away ourselves! We had to tie down our chairs and anchor everything as the wind was so strong.

It didn't stop us though- from having a blast and from catching fish!
I won the day by catching 3 fish that I am told were Spanish Mackerel.

I WAS wearing a hat but the wind was so crazy I ended up just sporting the windblown look-

Here I am with my first catch of the day - I named him Ed.

Here we are attempting to all get in a photo - we made it!

We headed home when we couldn't take the wind anymore - we were a little sunburnt and a lot windburnt(?). We had a great time and are definitely planning another fishing day minus the wind!

After we recouped from our fishing adventure, we got a surprise call from some family from Northern Florida who were in Tampa for a mini vacation. We headed out to have dinner with them and them and afterwards we all went to play some mini-golf together. We had a lot of fun and everyone got a hole in one at one hole or another which made for some great memories!

Here is a pic of Kyle with his family after the game!

Happy Birthday Harley!

Yesterday was Harley's Birthday! He is one year old. We had a mini celebration with puppy ice cream and some new toys (which he promptly destroyed..)

Meeting up!

For the first time since beginning blogging I have met a fellow blogger in real life! This is my blogger friend Steph (from The Scoop from the Loop) and I at church this past Sunday - her family had been searching for a new church home since moving down to Florida and we invited them to come to our church.

They seemed to really enjoy it and we definitely hope they continue to come!

Using your time wisely.

First I just have to say that I was so surprised to find out how many people were lurking around my little blog here! I couldn’t believe it! I am touched by your kind words about my writing, etc and I hope you keep reading and now that I know you read I will have to come and visit your blogs as well.

It’s finally Friday here at Reflections of Moi and I have to tell you that it is not looking like too much of anything is going on today. As I sit here at my desk typing my post in Microsoft Word (cuz...it looks more professional than blogger) I am wondering what today is going to bring.
The past few weeks have been beyond slow and as you know from recent posts- I am slowly losing my mind. I try to make up little routines that I go through each morning to take up time and make me feel busy:

First when I get in I make my oatmeal in my coffee cup (2 min.) and then I come back to my desk and check my work and personal email (30 min.), then I eat my morning pear (not to be confused with my after lunch pear) (hmmm..2 min.) and then I take care of any mail that I have that needs to go out today (0-5 minutes). Okay, so seeing as how I was 4 minutes late today that puts me at about...hmmm…8:38 am or if there was lots of mail 8:43 am. Only 7 hours and change to go! Not including my hour lunch of course where I used to check my personal email, blog, watch TV online, or read. Now, because I wrote this post I am now at 9 am so…things are looking up!

Now, let’s see…what else can I schedule for today? I was thinking about a good day dream that I could have around 10:30 or so…something with Jon Krazinski or Robert Pattinson or maybe just about shopping! Yeah I could probably daydream for about 10 minutes or so as long as the phone doesn’t ring.

So what shall I do between 9am (which is now) and 10:30am when I have tentatively scheduled my daydream? I could probably spend a good hour reading blogs and maybe another half hour writing some advance posts for another blog…Let’s see here now I have to get from 10:40 to lunch at noon:

String all paperclips together into fashionable necklace (4 min.)
Color nails in with different colored highlighters (6 min.)
Stare at wall and dream about being photographed in magazine for design work (7 ½ min.)
Make cup of tea (24 min. – you know, cuz I will wonder thru the office and have various office type conversations…and then sipping and smelling the tea…)
Reverse post-it pads configuration into accordion …(10 min.)
Stare at color selections for project and look busy (5 min.)
Cancel magazine subscription (2 min.)
Read all yahoo articles of the day (11 min.)
Text message Mom (2 min.)
Go to barnes and noble online and pick out books I want to read soon (6.5 min.)
Text message Mom back (2 min.)

Oh, thank goodness! It’s noon. Are you all exhausted? Me too…eat lunch (7 min.) and nap at desk to rest up for Girl's Game Night tonight (53 min. if the phone doesn’t ring)….

Only 4 hours to go! Please let me know if you have any suggestions of what I might do with my spare time - Don’t hold back; next week is a 40 hour week…(sigh)…

T.G.I.F.

Why do we blog?

Lately I have been thinking about why I blog – you know, like what is my purpose and what am I trying to do or who am I trying to speak to? I have always looked at my blog as a sort of online journal – a place where I can write anything I want or anything I am feeling and maybe, just maybe that information is interesting to other people out in the blogging community. I used to write in a journal and I think while I wrote things in a private format that I would NEVER write in my blog there were other times that I kind of wanted to share it and for me that is what I want my blog to be – my online journal of my life in good times and bad.

So, what ISN’T my blog? My blog is not my way of letting everyone know how I am doing, it is not directed at others and it is not my way of keeping you up to date on my situations. I had a phone call yesterday in response to something that someone read on my blog. They had concern and I am grateful for their concern. But I don’t want to talk about my blog and what I wrote unless IT IS ON MY BLOG. That is what comments are for. They let you know what someone thought of what you said, they listed their concerns or thoughts, opinions, comedy whatever about what that post said and you are able to comment back and maybe even strike up an online dialogue about it. Bloggers LURVE them some comments people! It makes us feel like someone out there is reading what we wrote and maybe, just maybe it was interesting. Now, you might not comment on every post you read that is understandable – but in general if it is something you read on a regular basis then you should comment and let that blogger know! When you have two comments on a post - you think you have two readers. And I would rather have two readers than none but, if you are reading let me know!

If you are not a blogger you should still comment anonymously and add your name otherwise I (the author of my blog) start to get nervous that people are just reading my thoughts and ideas and little snippets but don’t have anything to say. If you don’t have anything to say – then don’t read. I know that sounds mean, but I feel like I am putting myself out there and I don’t know who is reading and I feel vulnerable.

I am not just here to complain or gripe at anyone – I am just making a plea that my readers let me know! I am considering making my blog private so that I have even more license to speak my mind and if I have 5 readers then that makes total sense (I can just allow those 5 people to access my blog) but if I have more then maybe I will keep it public.
I blog for me, but I love that other people are interested.
I wouldn’t mail you letters torn out of my journal, I can keep up with my loved one’s more personally via email if need be. I’ve been blogging for 3 and a half years now and I think maybe it’s time to go private or maybe just start fresh.

Alright all you lurkers and blog stalkers! I am declaring this the OFFICIAL Reflections of Moi DE-LURKING DAY!!!

Here Fishy Fishy!!

Well, last weekend I suggested to Kyle that we head out to the pier and do some fishing. It was nice to get out of the house and spend the whole day outside having fun! I am not much for fishing normally but we really did have a great time!


Here is Kyle with his first catch of the day! I know I know, you are wondering how we even were able to reel it in!

Here is my hubby reeling in another one! I love this picture of the pole and the sun...
Here is the biggest dork on the planet.

And here I am with one of my fish (that I let go, of course!)...and no he was not my bait.

Anyhow, we had a great time and really enjoyed the outdoors and watching the dolphins that were playing out in the water. We plan to go again soon.