Sadie's Hair

I promised pics of Sadie's new 'do ages ago and have slacked. Things have been busy, but I'll save it for another entry. Meanwhile, ici:

Still the asymmetrical cut, not too much different, but the color is the main difference. She loves it. I like it quite a bit too!

And yes, she's a big Hello Kitty fan.

New Hair and Other Things

In preparation for the wedding, and also to just improve my style situation a little bit, both Sadie and I got our hair done yesterday. I've had a chance to take some pictures of my own new coif but Sadie was so busy yesterday after school that I didn't have a chance to take pictures of her hair. Well, I did take a pic with my phone but that's it.

Sadie tried tae kwon do with her friend yesterday. They did two 45 minute sessions yesterday and she loved it. She wants to start going every Tuesday which pleases me greatly.

Although it is very refreshing to have a haircut, I wish I looked a little bit different than I do. It is still kind of my same basic, boring hairstyle that I always wind up reverting back to when I neglect to get it trimmed regularly, like a normal human being. Which happens a lot. I think next time I'm going to be more daring with the color. Overall I'm just glad that I have a fresh new 'do and there's still enough hair to have them put it up for the wedding.

Here are the best examples of what I can offer of the cut and the color:

See, not that much different. But better.

Spring Hill

I didn't ever plan on living here. The plan was to move to a house in New Port Richey, about 20 miles south of here. It wouldn't have been that far really, but it would have been a little bit closer to Tampa and just a few miles from Tarpon Springs.

I had been to Spring Hill before when I was younger since my grandfather lives here. I found it ironic that Rob's grandfather also lived in this town, having moved here around the same time my grandfather did. In the summer of '04, I believe, while we were all on vacation down here-his parents, his sister, my parents, everyone-his folks bought a house in Spring Hill as a winter home.

His parents closed on the house I am living in on the same day that we closed on our Jersey house. They bought it to rent out, but it took on the more immediate purpose of sheltering me and the girls during my brief hiatus from home-ownership. It has been a godsend.

I used to scoff at the idea of living here. It is very Florida-cracker meets Northern Exodus to The South meets various other groups of people. It's on the Nature Coast. It's a little bit rural, a little bit town, and absolutely no city. There are no tall buildings, only strip malls and residential properties. It lacks the sleekness and the cool vibe of Tarpon Springs and New Port Richey.

Still, I like it here! The people are very friendly. I have had some very positive interactions with strangers. I'm not good at making friends so this is about the best I can hope for right now. It carries me a long way actually.

The benchmark moment had to be the day I walked into my bank down here with a fairly sizable check from the sale of our Jersey house. I was alone, by choice. They actually had a greeter there to see if she could help anyone who walked in, which was me with this check that Rob had so thoughtfully and fortunately signed before passing away. When the woman asked if she could help me, I literally burst into tears with this check in my hand and quietly and briefly explained my situation. She soothed me and shushed me and brought me up to the counter like a little chick under her wing and helped me get squared away.

There are have been other moments, similar, although usually without the tears. I got Sadie into high school, on schedule, for the very first day of the school year. That was no easy task, with the doctors' office up north who just wouldn't fax over her medical information and other related obstacles. I had to rely greatly on the efforts of the Public Health Clinic down here, which does an amazing job of getting kids immunized and seen by doctors during the 2 weeks leading up to the first day. However, the wait there is excruciating. Since then it has been pretty much smooth-sailing as far as Sadie's school goes. Her freshman year has been very good so far.

And while, no, I never dreamed of living here, it is much better than I imagined. It is a very laid back town. There are a lot of elderly people, especially in the area that the new house is in. There are also a lot of families with kids. There are also some tattoo parlors and barbeque pits and they sell beer and wine in the grocery store.

Maybe I just belong here right now.

For you out there who like to get lost in wiki, please visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Hill%2C_Florida

Some Pics from Last Weekend

This past weekend JH and his girlfriend Mariela came down to Florida for a visit. We had a nice time. On Saturday we had a leisurely breakfast before heading down to Tarpon Springs for a little shopping, strolling, and lunch. I replenished my supply of sea salt body scrub and treated myself to a few cigars. No, I didn't stand around and smoke a few cigars during the outing. I brought them back home for the occasional sleepless nights that surely lie ahead.

We ate lunch at a place called Snookers. This place has indoor and outdoor seating, a big tiki bar, and an alligator pool. It touts Floribbean cuisine on the menu and pretty much delivers just that.

At one point we walked past a fudge shop. Mariela, who is not originally from the states asked "what is fudge?" This pretty much sealed the deal that we would have to go in and show her exactly what the excitement over fudge is all about. I must say, it was good but it wasn't the best I've ever had. It was a little granular and not as smooth and creamy as it should've been. I wonder if the humidity has anything to do with the consistency. Should I just seek out every fudge factory in Florida to test my hypothesis? Probably not a good idea with me being in a wedding and all in less than four weeks.

Let's just say, it did answer the question "what is fudge" in a satisfactory way, but not it didn't convey the excellence which usually would accompany the answer.

Well, I could go on and on dissecting the meals we ate but who wants to hear about that. The point is, my friends came in to town and it was a real treat to see them. We got out on Saturday night for some drinks. Penny spent her first night apart from me in her whole entire life by sleeping over her grandparents house. Aside from the fact that I worried constantly about her-picturing her running around wildly crying at 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, etc.-it was a little bit comforting to know that IF I ever decide to treat myself to a night or two without the girls, she will probably survive without me.

So here are some pics:

JH-how's this for a moody, brooding, contrived, fakely pensive, faux-candid self-pic? Go ahead, get your digs in :-P