From Florida to Freezing

Yes, we are home.

We made it home on Monday.

When we stepped on to the plane in Ft. Myers, Florida, it was in the mid-80's for a temperature with mostly sunny skies. Three hours later, we stepped off the plane in Minneapolis and it was cloudy, windy and 46 degrees.

I'm still trying to warm up.

QH, in true Eskimo fashion, walked off the plane in his shorts and said, "I'm home!"

I've been trying to get my bearings since we got home, and trying to keep my spirits up because I'm feeling the drop in Vitamin D I was getting daily in the Sunshine State. In a way I am glad to be home, but it's hard to get back in the groove when you think of how long it took you to get on vacation and how fast it went by.

Today, I received a little insight into how to take things now that I'm home. It was a small gift from my fellow writing friend, the fabulous Sandy Lender, in her blog post today on her blog Today the Dragon Wins. Go to her site and check it out: www.todaythedragonwins.blogspot.com. She's had plenty in her life the last few years that has given her the wisdom and insight on how to take things when life piles on the issues and the problems and the obstacles.

Check the comments and leave one for her if you like. (Also, if you haven't read "Choices Meant for Gods" (go to her publisher's site for a great deal) or her chapbook, "The Choices We Made", and both are available at Amazon.com).

I come away with the knowledge that sometimes you just have to take things "one day at a time" as most of my family and friends who have gone through the 12 step programs recite to keep them from falling off track. I forget I'm not Wonder Woman with super powers and that in order to get more done, I need to finish one thing before I move on to the next. I have to check off the things accomplished on my never ending "To Do List" and try not to overwhelm myself. And try to keep the list manageable.

I had 13 days of wondering what we were going to do that day, with no plan or agenda, and it was wonderful.

True, we need to work and make a living, and be responsible and all that, but I'm not going to let my "To Do List" run my life to the point of hyperventilating if I don't get something done. And once it warms up here in the "land of ice and snow", I'm going to do more to have more fun and enjoy the weather and my friends and family.

In the meantime, I'm looking for my socks. My feet are cold.

Florida 2009: Tick, Tock

Yes, we are leaving in a few hours for sunny southwest Florida. I kept looking at the clock at work tonight which is a frustrating activity on the night before you go on a long vacation. I don't recommend it.

But it was more than the clock that was frustrating me. All day I was driving myself crazy trying to get everything done, as usual, and accomplishing zilch. Poor QH was home cleaning, doing laundry and packing and I felt like such a shit for leaving him home alone to do all that. I hate it when I do that. I want to rest and relax and be in a good mood when I go on vacation, not pissed off and frustrated. GRRRR.

I know, I should be more organized, and not try to leave everything to the last minute, but some things you have to. It's just that time moves way too fast when you are busy doing other stuff, and when you're not, you swear that damn thing is going backwards!

I have a few projects in the works, that will bring in some extra money and kick start my writing business (yes, I still have a writing business!). I need to take a breath, because since the first of the year, it's been one thing after another after another. Some good, some bad, and some fabulous. Ha! You thought I was going to say something else, didn't you?

It's been interesting, to say the least, but I need a little time watching the Gulf of Mexico, and the sun setting by the Naples Pier, and to hold QH's hand as we walk along the beach. We both need this so terribly bad, and I'm glad we decided that we would still go in spite of everything else going on. If you are under a lot of stress, working your ass off trying to make it paycheck to paycheck, or just having a hard time finding the fun in life anymore, then you need to take a break.

Everyone needs to run away from home once in a while. If you can't afford to go right now, then start a vacation fund. When you get enough, then plan on where you want to go. Get brochures, look on the Internet, and most of all DECIDE TO GO, NO MATTER WHAT!

Even if you just go to the lake with the kids, go play in the sand. It washes off, and you'll feel much better.

What happened while I was on vacation?

We came home from Florida on Monday, and through some great weather miracle, the temperature in Minnesota was almost the same as Florida. It was 75 degrees! When we left Minnesota, waaaay back on April 5, it was 12 degrees in Minnesota. I was also updated by everyone when we called home for various reasons, that it was snowing back home, that it was freaking cold, that we all sucked because we were in Florida, etc. But somehow the weather made it easy to come home so it wasn't such a shock to our systems. Thank you, God, for that!

In the meantime, I have been trying to catch up with all that is going on in the world since we left. I made a decision that I was not going to watch or read any news, other than the weather, while we were gone. My reasons are many, but mainly, I have a screen addiction I am trying to break. Yes, I am addicted to the television and the computer screen. I can't get anywhere, or get anything accomplished while there is a 'screen' in operation. The world would fall apart around me and I would be sitting on my couch watching grass grow (golf), or be on the computer trying to find out if I could make money at home racing cockroaches in my kitchen, or any other nonsense.

I also was not about to get caught up in the whole negative media feeding frenzy that happens because I was on vacation with my son and my "hubby" (we aren't married on paper, but we are in every other way) and I wanted to spend time with them and have fun and let the rest of the world take care of itself for a couple of weeks.

So, for 11 glorious, wonderful days, I didn't have a clue until I came home that the world went to hell. There was the whole "Don Imus Incident", then the continuing war in Iraq and the standoff in the government about whether we leave or send more troops or what. Larry Birkhead won the Anna Nicole Smith Baby Lottery. Then a crazed lunatic shot and killed 33 people at VA Tech before turning the gun on himself. I haven't turned on the television for more than the weather since I came home.

But the kicker was when I checked my answering machine and there was a nice message from the Sherburne County Sherriff's office that there have been a rash of home burglaries and car thefts in our area and if we see anyone suspicious or someone comes to the door selling something or are there and we didn't ask them to be there, to call 911. Nice. Welcome home.

Suffice it to say, we did a thorough sweep of the house and grounds and accounted for everything. We talked to our landlord and suggested better locks on the doors. We also are going to update our renter's insurance policy and inventory all of our valuables. We should have stayed in Florida!

Florida, Here We Come!!

The snow is now all gone. We had 80 degree weather a week ago, and it was just enough to kick me into high gear with my spring cleaning. This year I am brutal, throwing or donating anything that I haven't touched or used in a year's time. Painful, for a packrat like me, but necessary. I need to open up the pathways so more good things can come into my life. I feel like I lost 10 pounds this weekend!

I am doing this for another reason, not just yearly ritual. My family and I are going to Naples, Florida, for a vacation. We will be gone for 11 days! We really need a vacation right now, and since my son will be graduating high school this year, this would be our last chance to go as a family. I want to come home to a nice clean house, not be bummed out and overwhelmed by all the mess I left behind! So, if I have not been as "chatty" as usual online or offline, I apologize. I'm not being snotty, just getting my house in order! I will be back and will have a lot to write about when I get back!

Have a Happy Easter!