Where Our Love Started...

As many of you know, Big Man and I met and fell in love in the beautiful Sunshine State of Florida. I wasn't looking for love when I went to Florida but it's crazy that I found it there. I don't think either one of us was looking for anything serious but 5 years later and look at us now. 

I want to write out our 'love story' and hope (hope being the key word) to do it before our impending nuptials but we'll see how that goes. 

Though we now live in Pennsylvania, I didn't want to brush aside our love loveness that started in Florida, luckily my awesome bloggy friend, Meg from Through The Roses, made me this adorable print....

I luuurrrrrvvveeee it...

Thanks so much girl! : ) 

I'm out for the weekend and much to Big Man's dismay we will be going to get our RPatz on and seeing Water For Elephants this Friday! : )

Have a fabulous weekend lovies!

Holy Freakin' Humidity

Were not in Florida anymore kiddies...but it sure as hell feels like it.

Living in Florida I started to become as immune to it as possible. I knew what times not to to outside, what venues provided ample shade and so on and so forth but Pennsylvania is on the next level. I used this theory down in Florida to argue my point about their 'cold' winter but I am turning it around and arguing the other.

When the chilly 30 degree weather hit Florida over the winter most locals were in shock and couldn't wait for the coldness to pass. I'm originally from PA and I was still feeling the nip but we couldn't really bitch about anything considering the whole North East coast was getting pounded with blizzard after blizzard. If I said I was cold I'd have a dozen other northerners saying...'Try it up here...We're freezing', which I imagine they were.

But my argument was that the East coast was already used to that weather. For the months and months leading up to actual winter many northerners were able to adapt by having a nice brisk fall in which you unpacking your turtlenecks and parkas and getting ready for winter. November in Florida, I'm pretty sure I was still hitting up the beach.

Now, I have used that argument for down there but I am now changing my viewpoint. It seems as though were starting to hit somewhat of a heatwave up here. I've tried to convince my body that it does not need to be on the defense anymore in the face of angry wench that is humidity but she has gone and effed up my plans. No cool breeze sings through the air at night and brushes my skin to give me goosies. Instead sweat has been clinging to my every pore and I'm pretty sure in my un-air conditioned room, I'm sweating in places I didn't even know I was suppose to sweat.

Until my body temperature comes back down, I will salivating at the thought of these...

And doing this for the rest of the day....

How are you staying cool this summer?!?

#7- Head Out On The Highway..

...Looking for adventure

And whatever comes our way...

#7 on my 101 in 1001 list was an obvious success since we made up to Pennsylvania safely from Florida

At 9:00am April 30th we set out on I-4 in Orlando and started our journey for the North. Now if you know me IRL and I even have my blog friends who met me to vouch for this but I am the most anxious person when in the car. God bless Big Man's heart because when I'm in the car even if I'm not driving and he is driving a tad too fast, I start to have panic attacks.

I don't even know how they started, I used to love going fast when I was younger but now I guess I value my life more. :  )

It was sad to see but we took our last look at Downtown Orlando. This was where it all started for Big Man and I but I will save our love story for another day.

A good story about Daytona Beach is the last tattoo that I got...I have the words 'Fear Not Thee Unknown' along my right ribcage...I got with my BFF Diva (from the CP) down there when I was drunk. Now that may sound pretty foolish to get tatted while intoxicated.but it is one of my favorite and most cherished tattoos I have out of the four I got. Plus I like the saying that we chose, so that we do not fear things that are yet unknown, it has so many meanings for us.

Ms. Mia had her own little cushy set up in the back seat next to our cooler and a crapload of stuff we had to pack in the car. She enjoyed it back there but not as much as this...

Mia was Daddy's BFF for a majority of the trip when Mama was driving and enjoyed the front row seat of all the action. Remember those panic attacks I talked about before....well I might have put Mia in a death grip a few times through Virginia and Maryland when the traffic got a bit heavy.

I was a tad bit dissappointed with the lack of visuals along the way. I was expecting to see Atlanta and all these cool places along the way but unfortunetly all we got was a whole lot of trees, tractor trailers, and guard rails.

We did find some fun though when we stopped off in South Carolina at the Fireworks Superstore to pick up some firecrackers for my Dad. It is safe to say that I was extremely cautious anytime I smoked a cigarette on the way up.

There was a bajillion freakin billboards that led to this...

I tried to get Big Man to stop but he was a man on a mission....it was tempting though, it was very festively decorated!

I was a big sign picture taker...I wanted to catch everything

Maybe a little self photography too while Big Man was sleeping...me and the open road.

I had a couple more pictures of signs and stuff but by the time we reached we Virginia the sun was set and most of the pictures either came out crappy or they were dark signs. We did get to see the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial from afar but my camera was being wack so there's no pictures of that. Also by the time we reached up closer north it was getting like 11-midnightish late so I was over taking pictures and more ready to hit the bed.

At 2:40am Saturday morning we finally reached our town and thanked the sweet heavens the car ride was over. I think Mia, Big Man, and myself were ready to get out and actually stretch our after a all day ride like that.

I was pretty vague about our move up until the time we left because my mom had no clue we were coming up. I led my mom and sister on to believe that we were staying down in Florida to help FMIL move until the 16th of May and since they both read my blog I couldn't say we were leaving at so-and-so a time. My dad and a couple other family member knew we were coming up but my dad thought we were going to take longer than we did and this is how we got greeted when we rang the doorbell at quarter to three in the morning

Like a deer in effin headlights!!! : )

What you don't see is that his right hand is on his gun on his hip...nothing says welcome home like a bullet to the chest.

My mom on the other hand cried tears of joy and was beyond thrilled over her early Mother's Day gift!

Big Man, Mia, and myself are no longer Floridians but Pennylvanians now....get ready PA!! : )

A Little Boyz II Men For Ya...

"All though we've come

To the End Of The Road

Still I can't let go

It's unnatural, you belong to me

I belong to youuuuu"

Time has flown by and tonight will be our last night sleeping and living in the house. Not only has it been a crazy year here at the new house (*coughfirecough*) but it has been a wild ride for the last five years here. It's bittersweet to be leaving Florida. I'm going to love being around my family but Florida has changed me into the woman I am now and there's no way I would be here in blog land if it wasn't for everything I've gone through here down here. 

So as I look back on my last night here at the house, let's take a trip down memory lane and see the things I'm going to miss about the great Sunshine State...

Duh...It's Florida, The Weather!!!

I might not miss the crazy, hot humid summers we have down here but I will always cherish the sweetness of the fall, spring, and even winters down here. Living in this sweet surrounding where it barely dips below 50 will be something I long for when I'm in the dead of winter in Pennsylvania.

The Beach

This and weather go hand in hand and not having the beach 45 minutes from my house is going to be a bit of a blow for me. As you can see by the many posts and pictures, Big Man and I are avid beach goers and love spending time at the beach whether it's playing in the water or just chilling in the sand. Now instead of playing in the Gulf Coast I will have to settle in to diving into the dark seas of Ocean City, Wildwood and the Jersey Shore.

My Job and Coworkers

Alot of people wouldn't be too sad about leaving their job but I am sad little heart face about going. In honesty I had the most easy job ever. I worked at a fitness center and pretty much my only duties were to clean, roll towels, greet guests, and pretty much watch tv and blog. Of course I did have to actually work sometimes but the majority of my time was spent blogging. I wouldn't have this awesome blog I have now if it wasn't for those eight hours I was able to dedicate to reading and creating blogs. I'm also going to miss my coworkers, well actually coworker! Who would have thunk it that on my first day of training the chatty blonde and I would become BFF's! I adore my girl Blondie and I can't imagine what it's going to be like not seeing her face at least five times a week. She's been there right next to me through thick and thin and I know that I will never find another friend as dedicated and as caring as here. I'm going to miss you sweetums!!

Disney and The College Program

If it wasn't for the College Program I would have never got the oppurtunity to see what living on my own, especially in a whole other state would be like. If your a long time reader you know about my Journey Into the Sun posts that told what a little wild thing I was during that time. C'mon, I was 19 and living on own for their the very first time, girls just wanna have fun right? The CP also gave me the oppurtunity to experience Disney from both sides as a worker and as a guest. They will work you to death there (well if you actually go to work *Wink*) but just being able to experience Disney when it's practically in your backyard was awesome. There are so many people that save and save and plan to go to Disney for years and I was able to go on a whim if I wanted, it can't get much better than that. And even if you been to Disney a million times, soon as you walk in those gates you feel the magic all over again. There seriously must be pixie dust in the air vents or something.

Food

There are just some things you can find closely down here that you can't find in my hometown:

Taco Bell, Chic-Fil-A, Steak & Shake, The Cheesecake Factory, The Melting Pot, Benihana's, Pollo Tropicale, California Pizza Kitchen, Bucca di Beppos, Louie & Maria's, Carrabba, Olive Garden and so much more.

Shopping

Again there are things down here that are hard to locate up there:

Papaya, Forever 21, Charlotte Russe, Williams Sonoma, M&M World, Dylan's Candy Bar, Yankee Candle, Old Time Pottery, HomeGoods, Michaels, Pier One, Ross, DSW, Target (gasp!).

Of course I'm going to miss FMIL and the girls (their my homies for life) but I'm just going to miss the overall feeling of Florida. It's hard to sum up but there is different southern swag down here compared to the North. Luckily for me the two things I love most are coming with me!!! (Big Man & Mia for those of you who can't keep up!)

***

P.S. As you can see I've been absent from the blogs and I will be for the next few days while moving out of the house and getting everything situated with FMIL before we leave, but I promise to be back in full force next week. Miss you's much!!

Leaving On A Helicopter...#83

OK, well not really and I don't think that it is even logically possible possible but that's all I could come up with....

But yes, I finally got to fly in a helicopter this past weekend. I'll let the pictures and a little commentary speak for itself. : )

What we were crazily getting ourselves into...

So excited...and your damn right I sat my ass in the front seat!!

My sexy co-pilot

And we're off...the highway down there is I-4

Flying over the interstate getting a view of Orlando...I wasn't lying when I said it was flat...you could see all the way to Downtown Orlando

That is Discovery Cove at Seaworld

In the circular or octagon pools is where you can swim with dolphins and some of the other animals.

Sea World

You can see the Shamu dome as well as their roller coasters in the upper right corner

Here's a closer look look at the arena where the Shamu and other whale shows are. You see those 'little' black things in the water, yup, their whales!!

The Sea World roller coasters

SeaWorld's Aquatica....their waterpark

Those buildings in the distance are Disney's Grand Floridian (the red one on the left) and the Contemporary resorts (on the right)

Let's take a break from the scenery and take a look inside the cockpit...I kept my arms glued to my side because that thing was small as shit and I was not going to cause my own death if I accidently hit something

Our pilot...I don't remember his name but he kept us safe and that's what matters

Some Florida swampland for you

Downtown Disney...you can see Cirque Du Solei (the white building) and if you look further behind there you can see Disney's Swan and Dolphin Resort and to the left of that Animal Kingdom's Expedition Everest

The hotel I work at and very soon to be former employer. I work at the pink one on the left hand side but the white one is one of our sister hotels.

And now were coming back down...

I hope you have enjoyed your tour of Orlando via Little Woman & Big Man Adventures!!  : )

A Chill Easter Weekend

Not much going on this weekend..Easter is tomorrow and another EXTREMELY important holiday follows the day after that!!

Nothing is on the agenda today but to enjoy this beautiful weather we are having. I'm loving all the sun were getting and being able to have my doors and windows open and letting the fresh air sweep through the house. Maybe Big Man. Me, Mia, and FMIL and the girls will dye some Easter eggs. A little late but whatever! : )

Melbourne Beach x 2

During the 'winter' down here a couple months ago and then a couple weeks down here me and Big Man made two trips to Melbourne Beach. We've been to Clearwater, Cocoa, and Daytona Beach multiple times so we wanted to see what Melobourne was all about. It's pretty much the same as Cocoa except alot more calmer and a little less touristy. It was nice though because we got to chill on the beach alone for most of the time and have mini photo shoots : )

The first time we went it was an impluse decision and we got there right as the sun was starting to set. It was right after Christmas so the water was too cold to get in so we just walked along the beach and watched the waves.

Sun starting to set over the beach

One of my favorite pictures of Big Man

Waves coming in

There's my girl again! : )

Waves come crashing

Me and my lovey!!

Big Man is a much better model (photogenic) than me..look at that face, such a cutie! : )

The second time we went, we left earlier in the day so we could enjoy the sun. It was still too cold to get in but this time we brought a blanket and some snacks so we could lay out and chill.

Us

Calmer waves on this day

My cutie-patootie!

Kicking water, thought it looked cool

There's me in the reflection

Ahh, I'm going to miss this when we go....not Big Man's hairy legs but the beautiful care free days at the beach : )