For Those Interested

...I started a new blog that's all about the wedding...questions, ideas, info, etc. 

If y'all care, you can CLICK HERE.

I didn't want to start clogging this blog up with all that stuff.

I never knew...

...that preparing for a wedding involved so much thought!  Sounds weird, I know, coming from someone who's already been married twice, but both of those weddings were small and quick - a JP in Humble, Texas and a wedding on a dock in Islamorada.

My honey wants what he calls a "real" wedding...in a church with music and flowers and all that stuff.  And invitations (though I do NOT expect the majority of folks to make the trip).  So I've been looking for cheap ways to do things as we have a budget of, oh...about $1.38.  I found some cute do-it-yourself wedding invitations at Office Depot.  50 for $33.99, but I haven't bought them yet.  I ordered a dress off of eBay (don't laugh!) for only $35.  I like it fine, but everyone else seems to have issues with the sleeves.  They go all the way to the floor.  SO, I just ordered another dress for under $100 that I think will satisfy all, including myself.

The church has been reserved and the music director there is "very excited" to do our wedding.  I think I'm a little nervous about that...I mean, I've heard the old guy sing and he's not bad, he just belts it out at a decibel just below ear drum piercing.  Not being Methodist and the ceremony being in a Methodist church, I have no clue what to expect.  What songs will he sing?  I'm sure we have a choice, right?  Guess that's what rehearsals are for!

I think I am going to have both my kids "give me away".  My BFF is going to be my one and only bride's maid.  That leaves my mom and sister sitting in the pews...like I said, I totally expect it to be very small.  It'd be great if more friends can show up, but I'm really not counting on it.  I wonder if I still have to do the whole "walking down the aisle" thing or if I can just pop in from the side?

Flowers?  All I need is a bouquet in my hands, right?  Wish it could be orange blossoms and tickseed and goldenrod, but I think those would be hard to find in PA.  Can't I just pick some wildflowers???

Reception?  OMG...can't we just BBQ at the house and keep it simple?  We really do NOT have to dance...trust me!

I'd love to make the reception/BBQ also a geoevent as it was all because of geocaching that we met and most of my friends are cachers.  Maybe dual receptions - one here and one there!  That'd work...

Oh, so many questions and so much to think about. I see why people elope and why I've never done all this before.  But he is special and if this is what he wants, well, then...he'll have it!

Please fell free to chime in with any and all advice you may have.  I could sure use it!

So You Think You Know Florida?

What building, built in 1141, was purchased by William Randolph Hearst in Spain, dismantled and shipped to South Florida?



Answer to the last question:

The leasing of convicts to private contractors.  Congrats to Sophie for getting it right!

Orchid Recovery Program Video

My friends, Chris and Misti, have been studying the Ghost Orchid for a long time now...The Illinois Orchid Society contacted Chris and used part of his video of the Giant Sphinx Moth pollinating a Ghost in this video:

Orchid Recovery Program Video

It mush be pretty neat to see some of your hard work "pay off" in a way! Keep up the good work, SeaAggies!

Odd and Ends

My sapodilla tree is FINALLY producing fruit! They are very slow to mature and ripen, so haven't gotten to eat any yet.  I'm excited about it!

Went caching a couple weeks ago with my friend, Blackfish Orca.  I'd gotten the cache here on this old bean sprayer, but she hadn't, so I took the opportunity to play with my new PNS camera.  I really like black and white photos.

This tree is in my fiance's yard (can I call it "my" yard, too???)  I thought it looked pretty with the light snow all over it's bare branches.

My fiance "procured" this sign left over from a construction project that was finished over a year ago and never picked up.  He thought it looks fun on his driveway.

Walking in the woods around my future PA home, I stumbled upon this guy hanging out...

One of the more creative caches we found that weekend.  I've seen different variations of this, but lliked the way this one was done so I snapped a pic of it for future reference.

These are slag piles in the woods very near his house.  Left overs from the coal mining days, these hills are really high up and kind of tricky to walk on.  I think we're going to place a cache up here if we can figure out a good way to hide it.  In this picture, if you were to turn your head to the right, you'd see the graveyard where Andy Warhol is buried.  I'm not a big fan, but his works were influential.

This is a potential spot for a small vegetable garden.  The biggest problem is going to be keeping the deer and ground hogs out of it!  Sure don't have that problem in Miami!

Just a view out the dining room window,,,

Back at work, my boss had a hissy fit that the guys threw out this huge bundle of air plants.  At first I thought they were dying, but looking closer I saw that what I thought were dead ends were actually little baby bromeliads!  Very cool!

This is Booger.  My Facebook friends know about Booger.  He stole my cell phone, a coffee mug and a co-worker's lunch.  Now when anything is missing or just can't be found, we blame him for it.

A little out of order here, but this is kind of a cool picture I got in the yard up in PA.  We were burning some stuff, so the haze at the bottom is smoke.  My son thinks it's creepy, but I like it.

So You Think You Know Florida?

What practice of the state prison was abolished in 1919?



Answer to the last trivia question is:
End's Rattlesnake Cannery and Reptilorium.

So You Think You Know Florida?

I have LOTS of books on Florida...nature, critters, history, photography, etc...looking through some of them the other day, I've decided to put them to use and try to start a weekly trivia/odd fact post.  Yes, I know it's been done before (SophieMae!), but ya know...one can never learn too much about this truly awesome state we live in.

*drumroll, please*

So without further ado, may I present to you the first trivia question on a Florida Journal!

*cricket.....cricket....*

Uncomfortable silence fills the room


Yeah...well....ok, so it's not that big of a deal, but here it is:

What odd cannery in Arcadia was established in 1931 and moved near Port Tampa City in 1937?

I am such a slacker

Wow...guess it's been a while since I've posted anything here, so let me fill y'all in..

As of February 20th, I am officially engaged!  No date has been set yet, but I know that the wedding will take place in PA and I know who the groom is and who the officiating pastor will be.  Other than that, I know nothing.

I got a nice income tax refund and bought a new PnS camera that I will be excited to play around with hopefully get some new pictures on here.

I've been caching regularly.

I'm still working at the same old place and can't wait to leave.

My kids are both doing good.

My MS hasn't flared up...no news is good news there!

In short, my life has been pretty boring and yet truly wonderful lately.  I guess love does that...makes the boring stuff special and the special stuff spectacular!