Florida

I have returned from my Florida vacation to visit Cody. We had a great time, most of which was spent on the road. We (mainly me) thought that we should see everything we could and take full advantage of our time in Florida. (who knows when we'll return!). I'll try and upload a few pictures by days. Here goes:

FRIDAY:

I made Cody wake up at 5:15 am so we could drive 1 1/2 hour to see a cruddy sunrise at a cruddy beach. Oh well. I treated him to Dunkin' Donuts to make up for it. (Thus began my obsession)

It's a tradition: toe in the Gulf at Apollo Beach

He always has to find the best shell

A view of the beach... we did see a wild dolphin so the trip wasn't a total waste

Cody had to close on Friday afternoon so I enjoyed a run in the nice weather and prepared the requested lasagna. We toured Bak Tower, the highest point in Florida. It was an incredible sight. Who knew the park closed at 6 pm?!  :) We ended the night by catching a movie, which seems like a common date activity, but for long-distancers, it was a treat.

Bak Tower and MOAT!

Another view... it was a donated piece of land, which is now maintained by the state, but it is connected to Mountain Lake so any resident or member can visit

Cody and I (heads-together shot)

My 'great' photography... I thought it turned out well

Trying out a clementine... turned out it wasn't so great

I discovered it wasn't so great either

SATURDAY:
Cody had to open at the shop. I enjoyed a lazy morning then drove to pick him up from work. I got a tour of the course and met a few of the members. Later, we caught church in Orlando (a church of the Byzantine rite, whoops), stopped by a lake in downtown Orlando (was too cold to enjoy), tried out an outlet mall, then hit Universal CityWalk. The CityWalk didn't turn out quite so wonderful, but we enjoyed the views and entertainment. We ended up eating at a Thai restaurant we had spotted before entering Universal.

Head shot at the Universal CityWalk

We then headed back to Winter Haven for some game-playing with Cody's co-workers and a few friends.

SUNDAY:
Cody had to open again, so I drove him to work so that I could go to a Roman Catholic church that morning (I was able to understand much more than the previous night's service). I picked him up after work and we were treated to lunch at a member's house. Later, we found a dress shirt at the mall that we thought might work for the wedding (turns out it's a smidge too maroon-y, but hey, we only spent $5). We made a couple snacks for the game, then enjoyed the SuperBowl.

MONDAY:

Dutifully preparing our picnic lunch

Only 82 degrees at 10:00am

Our first wild gator sighting

Numerous birds enjoying the hammock

Cody with a gator in the background

Monday came very early for us. We wanted to get an early start on our drive to the Everglades; we ended up being only 15 minutes 'behind schedule' with a 6:15 departure. We grabbed some coffee (Dunkin', of course) and were off! After a couple stops (one at Okeechobee Lake), we arrived to the park at about 11:00. First, we stopped at a trail, ate our picnic lunch and set off. These next pictures are from within the park, along various trails.

The creepy congregation we spotted from the boardwalk

The lowest 'land' elevation either of us could remember seeing

Entering Mahogany Hammock

Modeling at the Marina store

Next, we drove out of the park and headed up to the northern entrance. We were too late to catch a tram around the around, but we did spot a gator that was on the trail, yikes! We then headed to Naples to try and catch the sunset. (fail.)

Cody ushered me right past this sleeping giant... he tail was on the pavement even!

Cody and I at Shark Valley

Made it to the beach, right after the sun made it beyond the horizon

We hope our kids will have a combination of my ski-feet and Cody's wide feet... we can hope, right?

More of the trip to come tomorrow...

THE Dress

After much searching, I bought my wedding dress today. It was one of the original dresses I picked out in October-ish, but only finally found it in a store to try on this week. Unfortunately, it was at the very top end of my dress budget, so I left Wednesday without it in hand. My mom and I searched the Internet for any possible option (used, foreign-made, anything...). The shop in Norfolk was willing to sell me the floor dress at a discounted rate, which made it only slightly higher than my budget and slightly larger than I needed. However, this shop offered free alterations and cleaning, which wouldn't be included in any Internet sale I made. (I also received insider info that this designer was raising prices as of Feb. 1, so I feel better just having a dress anyway. Plus, bridal stores prefer 6 months or more before ordering a dress).

Special thanks to my Mom for listening for hours and endlessly searching the used wedding dress sites with me! Thanks to my Mom and Dad for helping me finance, and to Kayla and Derek for their trip to Sioux Falls in search of the dress.

But ugh, I can't recommend wedding dress shopping to anyone... glad this is all only happening once! (I'm sure my family and Cody are relieved as well.)

If anybody cares to see the link, just let me know :)

Lt Mann, RN BSN

I am officially a second lieutenant in the Air Force. My point of contact that handles new nurses in the Air Force cleared me to commission this morning, so after a bit of paperwork, I was able take my oath and sign away the next four years of my life... sorry, Cody! :) Here are a couple pictures:

Major Jurgens administering my oath (no fumbles this time!)

THE salute

Signing the paperwork

Additionally, I was a big fat loser and 'moved home' today. I'm hoping my parents don't charge room and board for the next 3 weeks...now it's just organizing all the items I want moved to Alaska and what I need to take to Scottsdale with me... I'm sure it will be a joy to sort through my things after the way I packed them up to Wayne, ugh.

Commissioning/Moving/Flying

Commission: I took my fitness test to officially commission yesterday (I passed, but it wasn't pretty). I drove a load of my 'junk' home to Wayne so that I could register and license my car (wasn't pretty either). I journeyed back to Lincoln, stopped by a few furniture stores to check sofa/loveseat prices (ok, that was pretty... they were all nicely arranged), and then am settling back into packing/moving.

As soon as my nursing license shows up on Nebraska's registry, I can officially commission. Anyone is invited to attend, although there is much less pomp and circumstance. I'm hoping for a Friday commission, but if not, Monday will do too. Move: Mom and Dad are planning on helping me move my big 'junk' this weekend, and then I'll be gone from Lincoln!

Fly: I was able to book a flight down to Florida to see Cody! (Wasn't sure if that was going to happen... ). I fly down Feb 1 and return the 9th. A few prayers for good travel weather would be appreciated.

Cody continues to be busy in Florida. They just got through with a big tournament last weekend and are gearing up for another one at the end of January. The weather's been pretty good for him, although he likes to rub in his "cold" days (40 degrees!). He's looking forward to squaring things away with our move and booking his flight up to Anchorage (he's hoping for an April 16th flight). He appreciates all mail and care packages, just don't send him ties, he can't handle 'em.  :)

Emlyn Mann, RN, BSN

I passed the NCLEX and am now a registered nurse! I was able to review my results online, since the official state board of nursing results aren't mailed until a month after testing. I'm so very relieved and very excited I'll never have to endure an experience quite like that again!

Study Breakfast

I've been trying to clean out my freezer and pantry in preparation for the move. And after tonight, things might get pretty interesting...

But this morning I made a monkey bread recipe, which used up leftover frozen bread rolls and a bag of pecans. I'd say that's pretty good progress for only having to purchase one ingredient (butterscotch pudding mix).

Below is the link for the recipe (3 1/2 stars, I'd say):

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/ultimate-coffee-cake-recipe/index.html

Bum Toe and Snow

Finally accepting the bandage, but it none too happy about it

I had to take Caillat into the vet for an abcess-looking, dead rodent-smelling sore on her right paw. Turns out it's an infected toenail bed (piece of litter/black cat-bite is to blame). The doc cleaned it out and put the dressing on. I now have 28 pills to administer over the next 2 weeks and a few F/U appt to take her to!

The next pictures are a warm, dry view of our current snowstorm. We're going on about 7-8 inches. I'm loving my 4-wheel drive immensely, but we'll see what the wind will do to it all tomorrow...